The claims that a presidential election could be "stolen" actually started about the time Trump looked like he might be the front runner in the 2016 GOP nomination race. From his campaign and his entourage, ideas and conspiracy theories were floated about how President Obama might set things up to stay in office and keep Trump from being inaugurated. I had this discussion with one of my neighbors who had heard these theories put forth on Fox News (where else would falsehoods and lies like that come from?) and was absolutely convinced that President Obama was planning this, because he was part of some worldwide conspiracy plotting to take over America and redistribute its wealth.
All of what they eventually tried to do after Trump lost the 2020 election was part of that discussion. After Trump was declared the winner, according to my neighbor, the plan went into motion. While President Obama would be looking for an excuse to declare martial law, there would be a plot involving Vice-President Biden somehow refusing to certify the electoral votes. There would be "alternate slates of electors" whose ballots would be counted in Congress, from states where the legislatures would over-ride the Trump votes and pick their own candidate. The military would then step in and prevent Trump from taking office.
I tried not to be rude, but couldn't avoid laughing at this. First of all, there were no states won by Trump with a legislature that would have overturned the vote, even if it legally could have done so. That got a blank stare. So did my insistence that martial law would not prevent the constitutional peaceful transfer of power, that the Vice-President could not alter the electoral vote total and only presided over the certification, which was actually an act of Congress.
His end of the discussion didn't consider any of the points I made. He was as certain of this happening has he was that the moon landing had been faked. Every day he worried about some news event or another triggering martial law, or that some states that took their time getting the vote certified were delaying because they were plotting to change the outcome. Recounts triggered in Wisconsin and Michigan by close final outcomes were, in his mind, "the smoking gun." And when the peaceful transfer of power occurred without a hitch, his response was to never bring the subject up with me again.
Rational Discussion Doesn't Seem to Penetrate Conspiracy Theories
The nature of conspiracy theories makes them difficult to refute, because they are theories without a shred of evidence to support them. They thrive on secrecy. Any evidence produced which refutes them is part of the conspiracy. Any source which denies the conspiracy is either duped by fake evidence or is part of the conspiracy.
One of the most laughable and ridiculous episodes in this whole history of election conspiracy theories involves the Arizona legislature and a group known as the "Cyber Ninjas," and that name just adds to the ridiculous stupidity and ignorance surrounding this incident following the 2020 election in Arizona. In spite of a complete lack of evidence, and after two legitimate audits following a recount, Trump supporters continued to insist that there had been fraud in Maricopa County simply because the county turned blue between 2016 and 2020, and because mail-in and drop boxes had been added, it took longer to count the ballots.
Instead of hiring someone with election auditing experience, the state legislator hired the "Cyber Ninjas," the CEO, Doug Logan, being a Trump supporter who, during the whole process of the alleged "audit" was communicating with the conspiracy theorists. They followed every crazy theory possible, including claiming that they had special equipment to check ballots for "bamboo fibers" which would supposedly "prove" they came from China. That claim alone is enough to question the intelligence of anyone who believed it, and proves the point that rational thinking is no longer part of conservative politics. No proof of bamboo fibers was ever obtained.
After what turned out to be a comedy of errors, including the "auditors" having to return, like inattentive kindergartners, to the board of elections on multiple occasions to find out how to access and use the voter database, the verification process for mail-in ballots, then leaving boxes of stored ballots opened and scattered around the area where the audit was taking place, exposing expensive voting machines and counting equipment without security, and taking months beyond their stated time frame to complete the job, they finally packed up.
Logan declared bankruptcy, more than likely to escape accountability and having to refund money for not providing what had been promised in his contract with the state. What they stated in their report was that they found Maricopa County's vote count, as reported by its board of elections and in both prior state audits, was accurate, though the numbers they actually reported showed Biden getting about 150 more votes than the original county report showed, with no explanation of the discrepancy. Initially, they claimed that mail-in ballots had come from areas where, according to a Google map, no one actually lived but the county board pointed out that the Google map they were using was unofficial, and the satellite photos were twelve years outdated. They were using a 2008 map in a county that had grown by 350,000 people in the time since the photographs were taken. That sort of undermines their claims to being competent anything, especially election "auditors."
A rational thinking person would look at this disaster and, after a good laugh, would discount the information and conclude that elections in Maricopa County are as secure and accurate as any in the country. Accusations of "massive voter fraud" and "stolen elections" would require knowledge of the system by which votes are gathered, tabulated and reported. Stealing an election from Trump would involve Trump supporters engaged in the conspiracy at every level in multiple precincts and counties within a state, and that doesn't make any sense at all. It would involve somehow deceiving and cheating a system in which the checks and balances are so accurate, the number of ballots affected by human error is maybe a couple of dozen out of a million that are cast and counted. And that makes the Cyber Ninjas, and other fraud claims since then, even more illogical, irrational and frankly, ridiculously naive and stupid.
From the Republicans in the state legislature who had authorized this fiasco, silence. Ultimately, the senate chairperson who had pushed the conspiracy theories and pushed for this phony audit, Senator Karen Fann, had to take some responsibility for the damage that had been done, to millions of dollars of equipment, the frivolous and unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars Republcans claim to be protecting, and to the political reputation of Republicans in the Arizona legislature, and was forced into not running for re-election, so the GOP could have a chance at keeping the seat in 2022. The fiasco was a big factor in helping Democrats sweep three of the four statewide executive offices in the 2024 mid-terms, including the governorship, and outpoll the GOP. If it hadn't been for gerrymandering, the amount of votes Democrats got in 2022 would have flipped the legislature.
I Can't Explain This Because I Can't Understand It
It's impossible, I think, for someone who has been trained to think logically and practically, who has lived their life by making practical decisions based on facts and reality, and who hasn't had any experiences that have led to developing a sense that someone, somewhere is pulling the levers and strings of control in such a way that we are oblivious to it and victims of it at the same time, to believe conspiracy theories. Rational thinking relies completely on facts. Conspiracy theories thrive on lies. That explains, as best as I can understand it, why Trump has a following that doesn't believe who he is or what he stands for, and doesn't care, as long as he throws them a few bones and claims he's their savior.
I understand the way our political system works and the differences which have created, and then undergirded, the political parties that dominate our society. What I don't understand is why there's a desire to remove individual freedom from people simply because their lifestyle and their politics doesn't agree with the other side. It is possible to coexist, without bothering anyone else. But by nature, being "conservative" carries with it a measure of personal insecurity and a desire to justify that particular position by imposing it on everyone else, becoming both inhumane and tyrannical.
The fact that a majority of people might believe something, do something or live in some particular way does not affirm the correctness of what they believe or do or how they live. But it is a fact of human nature that putting someone else down helps us feel better about ourselves. Or does it, really? There are liberals and progressives who do this too, though I can't identify a single liberal or progressive or moderate Democrat politician who advocates the removal of anyone's individual freedom, or whose policies and politics would lead to that outcome. But pick any conservative, and odds are they will be on board with restricting individual rights of those they believe do not deserve to have them because of who they are or what they believe. Conservativism, across American history, always creates a heirarchy of second class citizenship.
Believing in conspiracy theories is a way of avoiding responsibility and accountability for our own actions. That is one reason why Trump has the kind of support that he gets. There is no accountability in ignoring reality. But that's the whole point of conspiracy theories. They are accusations without proof to justify actions without reason. And that is the political reality we now live with.
A Beating for the Ages
If enough Americans are convinced that living under a constitutional democracy is the best way to live and enjoy the kind of personal liberty that is at the core of our identity, then there is one way to rid ourselves of the problems posed by MAGA politics. The Republican party, which has basically allowed itself to house this abberation and threat to freedom, must either return to the prior understanding of the give and take of compromise and respect, or it must dissolve and lose its identity, something that has already occurred to a certain extent. I see only one way for that to happen, and that is for them to sustain an electoral defeat in 2024 that will be memorable for generations to come.
Whether Democrats are capable of uniting their progressive wing, avoiding another Jill Stein disaster, and pulling in enough independent and moderate GOP voters to crush the GOP in 2024 is going to depend on a messaging battle that seems to be just beyond their grasp at the moment. We've seen the most effective two years of a Presidency in decades, one that should already be intimidating any Republican wanting to run. That's what needs to happen to get back control of Congress and to send a message that things need to change, or their party will go the way of the Whigs.
A rational message appeals to people who are rational thinkers and those are the people Democrats should be aiming to get on board. It's OK to be liberal, let's talk about exactly what that means. Let's talk about economic recovery and low unemployment and other benefits we are receiving because of our current President's polcies. But let's also pursue the conviction of a former President who committed crimes against the American people and back up our claims of being a nation of law and order. I think taking this seriously, moving it forward quickly and prosecuting it effectively will be the ticket to ensure Democrats terms in office long beyond the next election. People are waiting to see some real resolve. If they get it, we win big.
The Cyber Ninja disaster in Arizona succeeded in getting the state senate president, Senator Karen Fann, out of office. On a national scale, the Republicans need to be the recipients of an electoral beating that will not only get rid of Trump forever, but will also put the rest of the party's political leadership out of commission, so that new leadership that is more sane and reasonable, and more rational, can run the party. We'll see who steps up and gets the nod when Ted Cruz, Lindsay Graham, Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell are gone.
We can do this. It means uniting behind Biden and turning out the vote in all Democratic constituencies. It can be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment