At the outset, let’s be clear: Donald Trump lost the election by over 5.5 million votes and that’s a fact. The Electoral College numbers as they currently stand are Biden—306, Trump—232.
The race has been run and the verdict assured. Mr. Trump was fired, but refuses to accept that decision and leave the building. In a truly profound example of “sore loser’s” syndrome, he has harangued his Twitter followers and others to challenge the will of the voters any way they can. Thus, just re-elected Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has just been outed, for calling the Republican Secretary of State in Georgia and asking that official to throw out a cache of votes in that state which came from predominately Black voting areas. The Secretary of State reported the conversation, and had other witnesses listen in to the call. That may come to be called criminal activity.
The Republican party and some of its acolytes have filed numerous lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada in vain attempts to have the court order some ballots disqualified and not counted. So far, not one of those cases has escaped being dismissed. In most, the judges have embarrassed those bringing such suits, since no real evidence of voting irregularities have been put into evidence. In fact, the executive hired by the Trump administration to monitor all election cybersecurity in the country just publicly reported that there was no evidence of voter-tampering, or other skullduggery (except for the usual Russian interference, etc.) in the election, and that, overall, this was one of America’s most well-done elections. Mr. Trump promptly fired him for speaking that truth.
Recently, virtually all the law firms handling vote fraud cases for Mr. Trump have backed out of further participation in those lawsuits. Only Mr. Trump’s current personal attorney, Mr. Giuliani remains, and he has spent more time spreading propaganda related to those cases than he has spent inside the courtroom. He has so far not presented any real evidence of illegal voting, corrupt vote-counting, or anything else upon which to build a solid legal case. So far, again, he’s batting .0000.
The state of Pennsylvania and the state of Michigan, the latter having produced more drama on Tuesday morning as two Republican County Canvassers initially refused to certify the area’s vote tally, then changed their minds after crippling criticism from virtually everywhere, have now certified their population vote totals. By Dec. 8, all states are scheduled to certify their votes, and the Electoral College delegates are to meet on Dec. 14,which will end any pretense of Mr. Trump finding a miracle win in the ashes of his presidency.
What can we learn from this lesson in uncivic behavior by the Trump team? Number one, we are reminded again that Mr. Trump is unfit to have been the POTUS, and the example he will leave of being in charge should be dropped in a ditch somewhere never to be revived. He will not be treated kindly by history. Rather, he will get the poor, shabby testimonial that he richly deserves.
Second, it is now more clear than ever that our nation’s school system has become extremely poor at teaching youth about American governance. In the recent past, high school civics classes used to really sparkle with nuggets of information about what democracy is and why this country’s version of it has worked well to this point. Those classes taught the value of civic engagement not riddled with threats of a new civil war breaking out at every protest. Students and adults could regularly have intelligent discussions about democracy, monarchy, autocracy, oligarchy, plutocracy and theocracy without confusing them with socialism, capitalism, or communism. It is now ludicrous to hear full-grown Americans label each other socialists or communists, neither of which is a form of government.
There will not be “a more perfect union” if ignorance reigns supreme.
Professor David L. Horne is founder and executive director of PAPPEI, the Pan African Public Policy and Ethical Institute, which is a new 501(c)(3) pending community-based organization or non-governmental organization (NGO). It is the stepparent organization for the California Black Think Tank which still operates and which meets every fourth Friday.
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