Admit that Biden won or don’t hold office
One way to make sense of the deadly Capitol insurrection is to consider how politicians who lie eventually pay a price.
There can be no unity without accountability. The first order of business is to admit Joe Biden beat Donald Trump, fair and square.
Judges dismissed more than 60 lawsuits due to lack of evidence of voter fraud. Each of the 50 states certified Electoral College results. All that was left was for Congress to count the ballots and for Biden to take the oath of office.
But many Republicans in Congress objected to the certified results. Millions of people believed the election was stolen, some said. Some holding public office perpetuated the fiction that Democrats stole the election from Republicans.
Six senators and 121 House members objected to counting Arizona. Seven senators and 138 House members objected to counting Pennsylvania.
Their votes and the violent mob that overran the Capitol Jan. 6 came dangerously close to ending democracy in this nation. What happens next time? What if there were GOP majorities in both chambers?
Could a political party with a slim majority overturn the results of a free and fair election in the United States of America based on nothing more than unfounded claims of fraud and threats of force?
That is a serious question to consider. Five people died in the riot, including a police officer.
Voting to disregard results of a free and fair election hours after deadly violence in one’s midst seems like a calculation that one’s political future matters more than lives of fellow citizens and survival of the nation’s democracy.
The election deniers and their civilian supporters kept repeating a refrain that went something like this: “Millions question the results and the legitimacy of the election, we have to think of them.”
Why did people think the election was stolen? Partly because many of their elected representatives refused to tell them the truth.
Trump said for months before the election that the only way he could lose was if the election was stolen. Many of his followers believed him. When he told them to fight, they took him literally.
In the wake of the violence, some have questioned their roles in allowing the big lie to simmer and fester before it boiled over in the bloody insurrection. Twitter permanently banned Trump, an act that removed his favorite megaphone and means for spewing lies to his followers.
Tech companies pulled support for Parler, an app where election deniers were said to vent their thoughts with little or no restrictions. An executive with a nationwide network of radio stations told program hosts to stop lying to listeners.
“Talk-radio owner orders conservative hosts to temper election fraud rhetoric,” declared a Washington Post headline about Cumulus Media’s emailed instructions to Mark Levin, Don Bongino and other right-wing hosts.
The PGA of America cut ties to Trump when it voted Sunday to take away a golf championship event from his New Jersey golf course next year, AP reported.
Corporations seemed to serve as America’s conscience as many announced they were pulling financial support for Republicans who voted to not count election results.
Marriott Corp. and Blue Cross Blue Shield suspended donations, the Chicago Tribune reported. American Express, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and other Wall Street banks said they would cease donations to individuals that voted to subvert democracy and disrupt the peaceful transition of power.
Election deniers consumed messages in ecosystems that reinforced their beliefs. They turned for comfort to radio, TV and social media channels where individuals shared similar versions of their perceptions of reality.
Many in Congress were too cowardly to challenge falsehoods, including the big lie that falsely claimed Biden stole the election from Trump. Democrats and mainstream media who spoke the truth only infuriated deniers who were told Democrats were evil and that media were enemies of the people.
Deniers would only believe one of their own, and even then they might not trust the message if it conflicted with their view of reality.
It was inevitable that someone like Trump would thrive in such an environment. Thousands of smaller lies, from birtherism to inauguration crowd size, formed the foundation of the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.
Unity begins with every single elected member of
Congress denouncing the big lie. There can be no path forward without acknowledging Biden as president. Rebuilding trust in democratic institutions begins with an understanding of shared facts and common reality.
Those who lack an understanding of First Amendment protections have complained about tech companies silencing their free-speech rights. Aggrieved Trump followers have sought community on lesser-known social media channels.
Trump followers who refuse to believe the truth about the election are one concern. Those who pushed the big lie and who serve in public office are another. Holding the latter group to account might help address the former.
The path forward begins with an honest admission that Trump is lying about Biden stealing the presidency. Those unable to state that Biden won and Trump lost are undeserving of holding public office.
More than 60 court decisions upheld that states followed rules and properly conducted and certified elections that resulted in Biden becoming president. It is demonstrably false to argue that the venue to decide such disputes is Congress instead of courts.
Some politicians may continue to push the big lie for fear of losing support. They may soon learn the cost of coddling supporters with falsehoods.