Trump’s E******n-f***d Big Lie Assaults Everyone’s V****g Rights, Mandating Punitive Laws Against S******n
Robert Becker's picture
Robert Becker

V****g Rights
by Robert Becker | May 25, 2021 - 6:37am

Where’s the uproar against stunts that drive non-stop, d******e e******neering?

Aside from shredding confidence that e******ns work, rightwing “Stop the Steal” schemes have another perfidious end: to turn campaigning into perpetual e******neering where nothing is final and anything goes. Trivializing the integrity of clear winners, whom losers simply impugn as illegitimate thieves, will not only distort historic v****g patterns but create general aversion towards e******ns, thus politics. Why bother to v**e if even certified outcomes simply kick off months of ugly, war-like disputations?

Can e******ns work when deceitful losers yell fraud, then scoff at diverse judicial assessments that deny all evidence of improprieties? That’s not just arguing balls and strikes but adamantly refusing to leave the field after getting ejected. If c***ting by alleging c***ting succeeds, then e******ns will not serve their democratic goal: to legitimatize leadership so that representative government may then serve public interests. Either the majority rules or chaos reigns, as today’s calculated, rightwing, state v****g suppression mania makes all too clear.

Further, if the rebuffed majority doesn’t rule, won’t then an opportunistic minority seize power and commit mayhem to stay on top? So much for everyone’s v****g rights laws, let alone stopping state legislatures (or the House) from quashing certified e******ns. Majority rule is already diluted by the Senate make-up and the filibuster, the E*******l College, and noxious House gerrymandering. Turning e******n into extended free-for-alls makes that worse, prompting more alienation, disrespect for law and violent protests.

Beyond political penalties: the law

If Trumpers escape midterm punishment after lawlessly battering the last e******n, they will have t***sformed politics into legally-irreconcilable hostility. That defeats the entire justification for e******ns, marvelously switching from "talk, talk, talk" to firm decisions, then actions that foster democratic empowerment. Legitimacy depends on shifting from the mayhem of picking winners to the hard work of change – or all bets are off.

Thus, while Salon’s estimable Amanda Marcotte last week stressed how the media must hold liars to account, “There's only one way to stop Republicans from stealing the 2024 e******n,” her “only way” language falls short. Why not insist on an even more targeted, obvious solution – legislation? As with any other anti-social behavior, e******n sabotage is well within the authority of Congress – the first line against disruption to determine winners. When an e******n is confirmed, having survived legal challenges, that must stand as incontrovertible. Otherwise, brace for endless litigation and propaganda demanding inane re-dos, themselves then open to repeated perfidy. That’s why prompt candidate concessions, while not legally-bounding, work to unify, t***sforming hot e******neering into a cooler compromise phase. Politics as constant war immobilizes the entire system.

Legal punishments against the subversion of e******n results are not hard to imagine. First off, why not require that qualifying candidates must agree they will honor fully-tested results? Eligibility requirements now abound, and this threshold seems like a bottom-line minimum. Other binding, legal documents demand signatures to affirm commitments, whether signing a mortgage or making disclosures when selling a house – with clear liability for misrepresentation. Ditto, when getting a driver’s license or a passport, applying for a job or a credit card – again, with penalty for lying and betrayals. Any losing politician who denies the legitimacy of e******n outcomes should be summarily disqualified. Losing does not somehow grant whiners special, extra-legal leverage to disrupt.

Feet to the fire

Further, why not require approved candidates to post bonds to assure respect for rules? Serious or repeat offenders will face civil and criminal penalties, especially when abusing certified e******ns as “r****d,” “stolen” or “fraudulent.” Unrepentant offenders should be forever barred from federal office – thus eliminating the blatant contradiction of losers only honoring e******ns that award them victory. As judges hold wayward defendants in contempt for prejudicial disclosures during a trial, so laws should stop candidates from holding an e******n in contempt – simply because they got fewer v**es.

Today, though respectable journalists are calling out the Big Trump e******n **e, media pressure is insufficient. Ending e******n sabotage requires stringent laws and an independent commission to identify and punish miscreants. Since only the two national parties have tens of millions to spend on nefarious litigation, their liability bonds should by far surpass what minor parties need cough up. A $100+ million fine would discourage more sabotage by Republicans, with unlimited personal liability for the worst offenders.

Wh**ever any final disposition of the Anti-E******n Sabotage Law, putting an end to today’s democracy-k*****g Trump s******n is now a red, flashing light, putting the very credibility of the Constitution at stake. Laws can’t stop political slander or corrosive lying, but forcing candidates to accept losing is now an emergency necessity. As with the Constitutional flaws exposed in last year's impeachment (when president and Senate share parties), letting losers get away with crimes against the majority exposes a huge systemic vulnerability. What stops the next rogue from finding new ways to belittle e******n results as no more than jokes or phony gestures?

No waiver for co-conspirators

Plus, relentless co-conspirators who join in the assault against certified e******ns should share liabilities, with fines, indictments, even risk of losing office. Those who scorn e******ns should not benefit from outcomes. As officials declare oaths to the Constitution, all candidates must fully commit to e******n outcomes. Either firm, legal distinctions establish when e******ns are finale and e******n legitimacy begins, or there will no end to rightwing e******n nonsense.

There is nothing radical here, simply respect for fair, fraud-free e******ns, like 2020. In this light, alternatives to the suspect, undemocratic E*******l College – whether its elimination or ideas coming from FairV**e’s “National V**es” – are parallel tracks to insure the majority rules. Now, a theoretical 27% minority can determine a president and impose its will. Can any majority worth its salt tolerate such unrelenting, foundational blows to v****g? That the Trump crusade against l********e e******ns may fail politically, confirming its lust to sustian minority status, hardly removes the incentive to reform a gaping hole in v****g/e******n justice system. If a “loser” can offset his loss with lying bluster, then campaigning and e******ns are mere puppet shows – and our democracy is wounded forever.

Trump’s E******n-f***d Big Lie Assaults Everyone’s V****g Rights, Mandating Punitive Laws Against S******n
Robert Becker's picture
Robert Becker

V****g Rights
by Robert Becker | May 25, 2021 - 6:37am

Where’s the uproar against stunts that drive non-stop, d******e e******neering?

Aside from shredding confidence that e******ns work, rightwing “Stop the Steal” schemes have another perfidious end: to turn campaigning into perpetual e******neering where nothing is final and anything goes. Trivializing the integrity of clear winners, whom losers simply impugn as illegitimate thieves, will not only distort historic v****g patterns but create general aversion towards e******ns, thus politics. Why bother to v**e if even certified outcomes simply kick off months of ugly, war-like disputations?

Can e******ns work when deceitful losers yell fraud, then scoff at diverse judicial assessments that deny all evidence of improprieties? That’s not just arguing balls and strikes but adamantly refusing to leave the field after getting ejected. If c***ting by alleging c***ting succeeds, then e******ns will not serve their democratic goal: to legitimatize leadership so that representative government may then serve public interests. Either the majority rules or chaos reigns, as today’s calculated, rightwing, state v****g suppression mania makes all too clear.

Further, if the rebuffed majority doesn’t rule, won’t then an opportunistic minority seize power and commit mayhem to stay on top? So much for everyone’s v****g rights laws, let alone stopping state legislatures (or the House) from quashing certified e******ns. Majority rule is already diluted by the Senate make-up and the filibuster, the E*******l College, and noxious House gerrymandering. Turning e******n into extended free-for-alls makes that worse, prompting more alienation, disrespect for law and violent protests.

Beyond political penalties: the law

If Trumpers escape midterm punishment after lawlessly battering the last e******n, they will have t***sformed politics into legally-irreconcilable hostility. That defeats the entire justification for e******ns, marvelously switching from "talk, talk, talk" to firm decisions, then actions that foster democratic empowerment. Legitimacy depends on shifting from the mayhem of picking winners to the hard work of change – or all bets are off.

Thus, while Salon’s estimable Amanda Marcotte last week stressed how the media must hold liars to account, “There's only one way to stop Republicans from stealing the 2024 e******n,” her “only way” language falls short. Why not insist on an even more targeted, obvious solution – legislation? As with any other anti-social behavior, e******n sabotage is well within the authority of Congress – the first line against disruption to determine winners. When an e******n is confirmed, having survived legal challenges, that must stand as incontrovertible. Otherwise, brace for endless litigation and propaganda demanding inane re-dos, themselves then open to repeated perfidy. That’s why prompt candidate concessions, while not legally-bounding, work to unify, t***sforming hot e******neering into a cooler compromise phase. Politics as constant war immobilizes the entire system.

Legal punishments against the subversion of e******n results are not hard to imagine. First off, why not require that qualifying candidates must agree they will honor fully-tested results? Eligibility requirements now abound, and this threshold seems like a bottom-line minimum. Other binding, legal documents demand signatures to affirm commitments, whether signing a mortgage or making disclosures when selling a house – with clear liability for misrepresentation. Ditto, when getting a driver’s license or a passport, applying for a job or a credit card – again, with penalty for lying and betrayals. Any losing politician who denies the legitimacy of e******n outcomes should be summarily disqualified. Losing does not somehow grant whiners special, extra-legal leverage to disrupt.

Feet to the fire

Further, why not require approved candidates to post bonds to assure respect for rules? Serious or repeat offenders will face civil and criminal penalties, especially when abusing certified e******ns as “r****d,” “stolen” or “fraudulent.” Unrepentant offenders should be forever barred from federal office – thus eliminating the blatant contradiction of losers only honoring e******ns that award them victory. As judges hold wayward defendants in contempt for prejudicial disclosures during a trial, so laws should stop candidates from holding an e******n in contempt – simply because they got fewer v**es.

Today, though respectable journalists are calling out the Big Trump e******n **e, media pressure is insufficient. Ending e******n sabotage requires stringent laws and an independent commission to identify and punish miscreants. Since only the two national parties have tens of millions to spend on nefarious litigation, their liability bonds should by far surpass what minor parties need cough up. A $100+ million fine would discourage more sabotage by Republicans, with unlimited personal liability for the worst offenders.

Wh**ever any final disposition of the Anti-E******n Sabotage Law, putting an end to today’s democracy-k*****g Trump s******n is now a red, flashing light, putting the very credibility of the Constitution at stake. Laws can’t stop political slander or corrosive lying, but forcing candidates to accept losing is now an emergency necessity. As with the Constitutional flaws exposed in last year's impeachment (when president and Senate share parties), letting losers get away with crimes against the majority exposes a huge systemic vulnerability. What stops the next rogue from finding new ways to belittle e******n results as no more than jokes or phony gestures?

No waiver for co-conspirators

Plus, relentless co-conspirators who join in the assault against certified e******ns should share liabilities, with fines, indictments, even risk of losing office. Those who scorn e******ns should not benefit from outcomes. As officials declare oaths to the Constitution, all candidates must fully commit to e******n outcomes. Either firm, legal distinctions establish when e******ns are finale and e******n legitimacy begins, or there will no end to rightwing e******n nonsense.

There is nothing radical here, simply respect for fair, fraud-free e******ns, like 2020. In this light, alternatives to the suspect, undemocratic E*******l College – whether its elimination or ideas coming from FairV**e’s “National V**es” – are parallel tracks to insure the majority rules. Now, a theoretical 27% minority can determine a president and impose its will. Can any majority worth its salt tolerate such unrelenting, foundational blows to v****g? That the Trump crusade against l********e e******ns may fail politically, confirming its lust to sustian minority status, hardly removes the incentive to reform a gaping hole in v****g/e******n justice system. If a “loser” can offset his loss with lying bluster, then campaigning and e******ns are mere puppet shows – and our democracy is wounded forever.

I agree with most of what you posted. It shouldn't be taking this long to confirm a true winner in last year's e******n. But the dems keep hollering. Big Lie. Big Lie without any evidence. And when AZ. tries to do an audit. the dems harass them at every turn not giving them keys to the codes and lying about missing v**es and chain of custody when there has been a camera on it the whole time.
Also. agree with no waiver for co conspirators. The MSM should. be fined out of existence for perpetuating the Big Lie myth. As well as the usual gang of i***ts ( Pelosi & co.). This should never be allowed to happen again. And I'll be expecting apologies from every one of you Damn Dems for your parts in this farce. Thank You.