Brian Karem asked Donald Trump, “Will you commit to make sure there’s a peaceful transferal of power after the election?”
Trump replied: “We’re going to have to see what happens, you know that. I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”
Karem, “I understand that, but people are rioting. Do you commit to make sure that there’s a peaceful transferal of power?”
Trump, “Get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it. And you know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know it better than anybody else.”
“The ballots are out of control… Get rid of the ballots…There will be a continuation…” These are not the words of someone who believes in American democracy. These are the words of an authoritarian and a fascist in the making. The message to Republicans down the line is clear. Take away people’s right to vote, hamper citizens at the ballot box, make sure their mail-in ballots don’t arrive, or are lost, or are late or are discounted for a myriad of reasons. And it all feeds into Trump’s rhetoric, which began before he was elected without the popular vote and into a system which has systematically advantaged Republican votes and Republican power at the expense of democratic norms, principles and practices, whether it is pole taxes on voters, oppressive I.D. laws meant to disenfranchise, etc., etc., etc.
Mitch McConnell and company’s abrupt and predictable about-face on R.B.G.’s death gives the lie to the supposed reasoning for making Merrick Garland a non-starter. It was never about letting the American people choose – Trump and McConnel’s own words make that clear – it was always about accumulating and using power. The Republican party doesn’t represent the majority of Americans on most issues, but that hasn’t stopped them from having an outsized influence on our country via gerrymandering and a plethora of other strategies designed to keep a minority in power over a majority no matter the cost to lives, consumers, environment, and democracy. Let us have some responsible, ethical, brave, honorable, courageous conservatives who run on principles and policies rather than power above all else.
Michael Ulen,
Grand Marais
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