One of the amazing things I read this weekend was that Republicans are still trapped in a bubble when it comes to the 2020 election. Writer after writer has talked about election integrity while not understanding what the term actually means. One writer recently decreed that it is the Democratic Party that interfered in elections, not the party that actually tried to overthrow the government in 2020.
That’s a shameful viewpoint. Here is why:
1) The terms “Constitutional Republic” and “Democracy” are not mutually exclusive. They are, in fact, complementary. The US is a Constitutional Republic that operates on democratic principles (at least for now).
2). The Mueller Report and many other legal events since then have established that the Trump Campaign ( if not Trump himself) did reach out to Russia and attempt to collude with that country. As Mueller himself laid out, the only reason he did not indict him for obstruction of justice was the DOJ ruling on indicting sitting Presidents. The report had Russian collusion all over it. You don’t get to say there was not. Just this week a Trump campaign advisor was indicted by DOJ. He expressly was not exonerated on that point.
3) January 6th, contrary to his assertion, was an attack on the Democratic process. The election had already been decided. Trump incited the attack on the Capitol to try to overturn the results of a free and fair election. Five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. It is deliberate obfuscation to ignore this. Trump blatantly lied about the 2020 presidential election being stolen from him and then proceeded to attempt to steal the election for himself.
4) And yes, Trump deserved both of his impeachments. Trump’s actions in Ukraine were obstruction of justice, abuse of power, violations of the emoluments clause, and conduct grossly incompatible with the presidency (which was what the House wanted to impeach Nixon for). His second impeachment was for conduct prejudicial to the Constitution.
5. The SAVE act from deranged maniac Mike Lee is—like so many state laws—nothing but an act of showmanship. It is already against the law for non-citizens to vote. Furthermore, like so many others, Lee ignores the fact that voting is a two-part process, unlike buying liquor. You provide your ID when you register. And there is no evidence of non-citizens voting. There is evidence of voter suppression, which he conveniently ignores.
5) Free Speech is not consequence free speech; those who deliberately put up lies and misinformation are engaging in the equivalent of screaming fire in a crowded theater. As Antonin Scalia noted in a SCOTUS decision, no right is absolute; common sense issues must be taken into account in the law. Courts have placed many “time, place, and manner” restrictions on free speech. Republicans support many of these restrictions – and if Project 2025 comes to pass, they will support even more. Disinformation, as we saw in COVID-19, literally kills people. Musk knows better – even as he turns Twitter into a right-wing cesspool. Russia is using Twitter and other platforms to distribute misinformation – which is a legitimate national security threat. DOJ is right to go after that, and Steve is wrong to whine about it.
6) “Election integrity” is not an issue, and Republicans know it. Disenfranchisement is an issue, however. Republicans are using the “election integrity” argument to play the electoral college, which should have been done away with a century ago. Recent history has shown us that a system in which electors are chosen in each of 50 diverse states is open to manipulation and corruption. The electoral college system effectively disenfranchises most Americans. The GOP is fine with that because they have not won the popular vote since 2004.
The overall point is this: Contrary to what Steve says, democracy is under attack. Project 2025’s proposals, coupled with the SCOTUS decisions, are a cynical attempt to reinterpret the Constitution and destroy the concept of checks and balances as well as the protections of the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Amendments.
We ought to want our presidents to feel constrained, worry about consequences, and think twice before acting. It’s absurd to refer to the threat of accountability as “extortion.” If a president is thinking about committing a crime, he or she should fear repercussions. It shouldn’t be controversial to argue that politicians and prosecutors should use whatever leverage is available to prevent the most powerful person in the country from breaking the law.