The editors of the Washington Post decry “dangerous revisionism”:
The truth must be told. Mr. Biden won the 2020 election, fair and square, and no credible evidence has emerged of widespread voter fraud. Mr. Trump, despite knowing that he lost, summoned supporters to Washington ahead of the certification of the election and told a crowd on the Ellipse that he’d go with them to the Capitol and that they needed to “fight like hell.†Mr. Trump relished watching on television as his supporters attacked the Capitol for 187 minutes and resisted pleas to stop them. As Vice President Mike Pence said later: “His reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.â€
More than 140 police officers were injured there that day. So far, 1,240 people have been charged with federal crimes related to Jan. 6, including 452 who were charged with assaulting law enforcement officers. More than 700 have been sentenced after receiving due process, including the right to a jury trial. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, a Republican appointed by Mr. Trump, has testified categorically and under oath that there’s nothing to the “ludicrous†conspiracy theories that his agency played any role in urging people into the Capitol.
The Supreme Court agreed last month to hear challenges to a law that has been used to charge 332 people in connection with Jan. 6, which makes it a crime to obstruct or impede an official proceeding. Defense lawyers say the government has used it overly broadly. Even if the justices agree, however, it would leave convictions on other matters intact.
I agree that President Biden was elected “fair and square” and that the violence that occurred on January 6, 2021 was reprehensible and should be punished to the full extent of the law. The SCOTUS will decide whether obstructing or impeding an official proceeding is legitimately against the law.
But I think we should keep our eyes on the ball. We need to have confidence in the validity of our elections and restoring that confidence is an urgent priority. Focusing on punishing those who doubt that validity is not only an inadequate response it is a counterproductive one.
I don’t think that the editors realize on how slender a reed the legitimacy of President Biden’s election rests. In Fulton County, Georgia the average precinct contains 3,600 voters. If there had been just an average of 36 fraudulent votes in the black precincts in Fulton County, that would have been enough to change the outcome of the election in Georgia. If the same had happened in a couple of counties in Michigan and Wisconsin, that would have changed the outcome of the election.
I would prefer it if President Biden pardoned those accused of non-violent crimes associated with 1/6 and paid more attention to making our election process beyond reproach than declaiming against those who doubt his legitimacy.
What reforms do we need? I believe we need tighten up on absentee voting processes and tighten up the election period. I also favor a national biometric ID but that’s another topic.
No matter what one thinks about the election, your points about tightening up on absentee voting and the time frame are valid. They are now nothing but an invitation for fraud, and those advocating for retention or even expansion of the current standards are self identifying as advocates of fraud.
We have tighter standards for all kinds of activities less important than voting.
BTW. See Jon Turleys recent piece on how the 14th amendment garbage has predictably and swiftly been expanded to all kinds of candidates.
36 times how many precincts? It has to be enough to equal thousands of votes, yet none have been found. It’s being claimed that thousands of people in multiple states engaged in a conspiracy and none of those people have confessed or been turned in. Bounties? Nope. Angry ex wife or girlfriend getting revenge? Nope. Are people actively looking for illegal voters? Yes. When the GOP brings in their own hyper partisan auditors can they find anyone? No.
Bear in mind that at least back to 2000 the GOP has been making these claims. People like Kobach in Kansas made it a near full time priority. Many millions, probably billions have been spent by now looking and they haven’t found anything. Yet most Republicans still believe there was widespread massive fraud.
Since the GOP believes in fraud without evidence you can’t make the system beyond reproach. You can make it harder to vote and exclude people. There is essentially no voter fraud that would be stopped with ID. As to the 1/6 criminals just follow the law. They are adults. Accept the consequences of their actions.
Steve
We almost had the Proud Boys ruling the US. Hopefully, the Russians were watching The Simpsons for those terrifying 187 minutes.
Shortly after the election, I listened to a Trump speech where he listed the numbers, and for the first 2/3rds, it was quite impressive. It is based on statistics, and those statistics are based on assumptions.
In the places where there was alleged voter fraud, Trump won by a large percentage in 2016, but in 2020, the same percentage voted Republican except for him. Also, he had huge turnout for his rallies.
Since his negative rating was so high, the most likely explanation would be people voted Republican, except for him. The lack of widespread voter fraud supports this, but I do think the election was rigged by the media.
Dave, thank you for noting my concern.
After a close and contentious election, a magnanimous and honest victor should recognize and acknowledge his slim majority of support and welcome the opposition into the camp.
Unless of course it just feels so good to grind them under the power of your office.
In this country, the power of the office has been acknowledged to be temporary, until now. So now they show their true colors.