Voter fraud? Prove it — or concede
“Now, are these really the questions I was called here to answer? Phone calls and foot lockers? Please tell me you have something more, Lieutenant. These two Marines are on trial for their lives. Please tell me that their lawyer hasn’t pinned their hopes to a phone bill…” — Jack Nicholson’s character in “A Few Good Men,” as he responds to Tom Cruise’s seemingly baseless accusations.
“Based on the fraud committed … either a new election should take place, or the results nullified. (The certifying entities) should disqualify him on the basis that he cheated — a total fraud! (He) didn’t win … he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong — and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!”
Those are Donald Trump’s words — but not from this election. Instead, he said them in 2016 while accusing Ted Cruz of “stealing” the Iowa caucuses. Based on the president’s current post-election strategy, it’s clear that nothing has changed when things don’t go Mr. Trump’s way.
Did Donald Trump lose? As of this writing, not necessarily. Just as Tom Cruise’s character successfully prosecuted his case — against the odds — so too is it possible that Mr. Trump’s legal challenges could prevail. But since this election isn’t a Hollywood movie, he’ll need more than a fairy tale ending to win.
In real life, the task before Mr. Trump is an extremely heavy lift. To have a shot at the
Supreme Court invalidating certain states’ election returns (and ordering a re-vote), the Trump legal team must show that A) there was widespread fraud, and B) it was enough to affect the outcome of not just an individual state, but the election itself.
No matter what, the integrity of elections must always be paramount, and election fraud of any kind should be aggressively prosecuted. That said, let’s be very honest about who really dropped the ball — Donald Trump himself. Upon becoming president, Mr. Trump should have immediately done three things:
A) Launch a full-blown investigation into the “millions of people who voted illegally,” as he claimed. Did he? No. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a conviction from any of the nation’s 93 U.S. Attorneys (all of whom serve under the president).
B) Pass election reforms, such as a national Voter ID law, with the significant Republican majorities he had in Congress. Did he/they? Nope.
C) Most important, he should have ordered his Attorney General to hand-select a crack Justice Department team that, for the next four years, would make every preparation to prevent voter fraud, since, by definition, they believed that fraud was inevitable. But did he? Not even close.
And why? Because instead of focusing on election integrity — which was clearly in his self-interest — he was obsessed with tweets and who had the bigger inauguration crowd.
Should the president concede? No — at least not yet. Just because he hasn’t produced evidence yet doesn’t mean fraud didn’t occur. As we should all know by now, election fraud has a long history in some major cities, such as Philadelphia. Again, that doesn’t mean it occurred in 2020, but no reasonable person should object to investigating legitimate claims of irregularities. I
Some dismiss the possibility that a presidential election can be stolen. They could not be more wrong, for not only is it possible, but it happened. It is almost universally accepted that vote-rigging in Chicago and Texas cost Richard Nixon the 1960 election. 6) Elections are complicated, and investigating possible fraud takes time. Just as Al Gore did not concede until Dec. 13, 2000, Donald Trump should not do so until he has his day in court. Like him or not, Donald Trump is still the president, and should be given the benefit of the doubt. But his window to produce evidence is closing, as more and more of the country is accepting the results and moving on with their lives.
Bottom line: It is incumbent upon the plaintiff to present wrongdoing. So far, that hasn’t happened.
If this election truly isn’t over yet, someone may want to inform Mr. Trump that it isn’t too late to behave like a president.
At the climax of “A Few Good Men,” Jack Nicholson yells his most famous line: “You can’t handle the truth.”
No matter the outcome, here’s hoping that we’re better than that, and that we the people, and our candidates, can handle the truth — respectfully and peacefully. America’s reputation as Shining City on a Hill, and our uniqueness in the world, hang in the balance.