Perhaps one of the most important columns of the year:
Recall Trump’s post-election campaign
last fall. Having lost decisively, he thought he could pressure local and state
officials to nullify the results.
…
He failed because enough local
officials had more integrity and courage than a majority of the Republican
caucus in the U.S. House has mustered. The leaders of the Pennsylvania
legislature said they didn’t have the authority to do what Trump was demanding.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger simply refused to go along. One
of two Republicans on the Michigan board caved to the pressure, but the other,
Aaron Van Langevelde, listened to his conscience, and his vote alongside the
board’s two Democrats was enough to turn aside Trump’s attempted theft.
All of this was inspiring to many
of us. To the anti-democracy forces ascendant in the Republican Party, it
provided a challenge and a road map.
…
As they target the people and
positions that stood in their way last time, they also are attempting to change
the rules, so a pro-Trump legislature could more easily override the will of
the people — and the objections of any honest secretary of state who stood in
the way.
“In 2021, state legislatures across
the country — through at least 148 bills filed in 36 states — are moving to
muscle their way into election administration, as they attempt to dislodge or
unsettle the executive branch and/or local election officials who,
traditionally, have run our voting systems.”
That is the conclusion of a recent
report, “A Democracy Crisis in the Making,” by two nonpartisan organizations,
States United Democracy Center and Protect Democracy, and a nonprofit law firm
in Wisconsin, Law Forward.
“Had these bills been in place in
2020,” the report found, “they would have significantly added to the turmoil
that surrounded the election, and they would have raised the alarming prospect
that the outcome of the presidential election could have been decided contrary
to how the people voted.”
…
This is why it matters so much that Trump continues to lie about 2020, and that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and most of his party have abjectly surrendered to the lie. It’s not just about history. The lie is being used to give cover for actions that in 2024 could turn the big lie into the big steal.
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