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Friday, November 6, 2020

The Election

 I have been reluctant to write much about the election. Maybe it's writer's cramp or just disappointment in what appears to be the final result. In addition, I don't want to slam the voters' choice and engage in hits against Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I am also reluctant to weigh in much on President Trump's efforts to fight the results in the last few undecided states. My personal feeling is that this election is over.

There is one thought that I do want to share. I don't know, at this point, how much stock to put in the claims of voter fraud in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Atlanta. Are they true? Are they, as the media is saying, just right-wing conspiracies? I don't know for sure, but I want to know what the truth is. We should all want to know. That's because the worst-case scenario is not which candidate won or lost, but if our democracy is still strong. For if, in fact, this election turns out to be stolen, our democracy is finished unless serious reforms are put in place.

Without making a conclusion, there is enough cause for concern in those battleground states where Trump was ahead-until the counting stopped in Atlanta and Philadelphia, and then he was behind. But I'm not an expert in how these polling places are supposed to operate.

What I had hoped for was a clear cut victory (preferably for Trump), but a result in which everyone would know that the American people had spoken, and the result was honest. We don't have that now. The only way we might have it is if we get a satisfactory explanation for what is happening in Philadelphia, Detroit and Atlanta.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What happened is that the mail in votes were counted last and they leaned heavy toward Biden. It's not shocking since Trump has spent months railing against mail-in voting.

It really is that easy.

Gary Fouse said...

Anonymous,

I hope you are right. What matters most is that we didn't have a stolen election. There are reports (accurate or not) that are troubling. For example, counting stopped in Atlanta and Philadelphia, poll watchers excluded, and batches of thousands of votes all for BIden. This has to be clarified or we will have half the country thinking they were robbed. On the other hand, if Trump somehow pulls it out of the hat through the courts, the other half will feel the same way.