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It seems to me that any candidate for public office who promotes or refuses to denounce Trump’s wicked lie that the 2020 election was stolen, should be automatically disqualified.
Ill-informed members of the public who have been relentlessly pummeled by the dissembling chorus of election deniers may perhaps be forgiven for falling for Trump’s lie. But those running for office know better. As people steeped in electoral politics, they are certainly aware that the analysis shows overwhelmingly that the 2020 presidential election was conducted fairly, and the votes were counted accurately. And they are aware that Trump lost by many millions of votes, and that there is simply no evidence to the contrary.
When candidates endorse Trump’s lie — either passively or actively — and thereby assist in poisoning people’s minds with the notion that our elections cannot be trusted, they undermine the foundations of our democracy. Such candidates knowingly use their public platforms in a way that recklessly risks toppling our democratic institutions. Promoting pernicious, destructive nonsense should be condemned no matter who is doing it. But if someone actually putting himself forward as a candidate does this — effectively helping to incite a mob that would set fire to American democracy, I’d think that he or she should be declared unqualified for public office and removed from the ballot. If such people remain on the ballot, however, it should go without saying that no one should vote for them.
Charles Hathaway, Grand Marais MN
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