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| Vote rigging in 1876. Could be this is what Trump had in mind with "Make America Great Again" slogan. Or with his call for poll watchers |
Some
years ago, I visited Constitution Hall in Philadelphia with my then-young
children. The guide, a young man, said, “One of the most momentous events in
world history happened in this room.” Long pause.
He
continued: “George Washington decided not to run for re-election. He could have
but he didn’t. He could have appointed himself king. He was the most popular
man in the new nation. But he stepped aside and there was another election.
And
he was succeeded by John Adams. Adams didn’t inherit the office. He had to win
the election.” He went on to explain how unusual it was to have a peaceful
transfer of power in a world of hereditary kings, tribes, and dynasties.
The
young man’s reverence for our democracy has remained with me all these years.
The
winning candidate, George W. Bush was the big brother of the Governor of
Florida, Jeb Bush. Ralph Nader won nearly 100,000 votes in Florida.
Gore
had good reason to be angry and feel cheated. But Gore was gracious. He
conceded, and he never complained that the system was “rigged.”
[There
was one other election where
the loser won the popular vote and may have even won the electoral college, in
1876, but a deal was struck that gave the election to Rutherford B. Hayes over
Samuel J. Tilden. The deal involved an agreement to end Reconstruction,
withdraw federal troops from the south, and leave southern blacks to the mercy
of southern whites. That was not included in my high school U.S. history
textbook in Texas.]
What
is remarkable in the election of 2016 is that the Republican nominee is
claiming that the entire electoral system is rigged before the election has
occurred.
He
offers no evidence for this belief. There is none.
The
election system is very decentralized, and besides, most states now have
Republican governors. There is no rigging going on.
At
the conclusion of the third debate, he refused to say whether he would accept
the results of the election if he lost. That shocked a lot of people. The next
day he said he would accept the results “if he won.” Not good enough.
Donald
Trump is trying to discredit the election and the American electoral process
because he is behind in the polls.
Clearly,
he doesn’t understand that a basic rule of democracy is to be dignified and
gracious, whether in victory or defeat.
Instead,
he prefers to sow doubt about the legitimacy of democracy itself. He must have
been a horribly spoiled child, raised with a sense of entitlement.
Maybe
his father fixed all the games he played in so he could always win.
Nothing
is so pitiable as a sore loser.