In reaction to the call for a recount, Donald Trump, President-Elect of the United States (or if we are being pedantic, the presumptive president elect, since it doesn't become official until the electoral votes are counted in Congress in January?) claimed today that millions of illegal votes were cast in the presidential race.
It is very difficult to put into words just how disgusted I am with this claim.
There is absolutely no evidence to back this up. If it were true, then our very democracy would be threatened. If the claim were to be believed, it would seriously undermine our system of government. No, really. That's not hyperbole. No one will take the claim seriously, so it won't actually undermine anything, but if there really were millions of illegal votes cast in the election, it would mean that we simply could not trust the electoral process in the United States. Likewise, if any significant fraction of the population were to believe the claim, it would undermine our system of government. No one could possibly have faith in the system if they believe that millions of illegal votes were cast. Millions of votes is plenty to sway an election. If it were possible that there was that much fraud, then your vote really wouldn't matter.
So we are in a rather awkward position. We have the duly elected President-elect claiming that his own election was fraudulent. This incredibly dangerous claim could really call into question the legitimacy of the greatest democracy in the world. Fortunately, though, no one takes his claim seriously, save for a few fringe lunatics, so the damage will be limited.
What shall we make of this claim? That he is lying? That he is delusional? That it was just a temper tantrum and that words that come out of his mouth are insignificant and should be ignored? I'm not sure which explanation I want to be true.
This is the president we elected. This is the president we deserve. In the words of a very successful marketer, "Sad!"
As for the recount itself, while I, and indeed almost everyone, thinks it is a waste of time, it is being conducted in accordance with the laws of the state of Wisconsin, and recounts might be conducted in the states of Michigan and Pennsylvania, in accordance with their laws as well. I don't know if there are any other states whose deadlines for recounts has not yet passed, but there may be recounts in other places as well.
Jill Stein, who is leading the recount effort, has, like Trump, also suggested the possibility of vote fraud, so perhaps some think I ought to be outraged at her as well. However, there are several differences between her and Trump. First and foremost, we don't take her seriously anyway. Not only did she lose, she isn't even a significant national politician. Who cares what she thinks? Second, she did not allege that there were millions of fraudulent votes. She is alleging that it is worth investigating whether or not there might have been a much smaller level of fraud. While I disagree that there is any reason to believe in any vote fraud, she is simply saying that there is enough unusual activity to warrant a closer look, and she is following the legal procedures for doing so. The process is in place. She has exercised her rights under the laws of those states. While we may not take the effort seriously, we are bound to follow it.
A beginning like this does not bode well for his term as president. I did not like Trump, and my dislike for him was not rooted in ideology, but rather in his lack of self control. His campaign staff had to force him to shut up on his Twitter account so as not to alienate more voters. Apparently, now that the election is over, there is no one with the ability to rein him in.
It is very difficult to put into words just how disgusted I am with this claim.
There is absolutely no evidence to back this up. If it were true, then our very democracy would be threatened. If the claim were to be believed, it would seriously undermine our system of government. No, really. That's not hyperbole. No one will take the claim seriously, so it won't actually undermine anything, but if there really were millions of illegal votes cast in the election, it would mean that we simply could not trust the electoral process in the United States. Likewise, if any significant fraction of the population were to believe the claim, it would undermine our system of government. No one could possibly have faith in the system if they believe that millions of illegal votes were cast. Millions of votes is plenty to sway an election. If it were possible that there was that much fraud, then your vote really wouldn't matter.
So we are in a rather awkward position. We have the duly elected President-elect claiming that his own election was fraudulent. This incredibly dangerous claim could really call into question the legitimacy of the greatest democracy in the world. Fortunately, though, no one takes his claim seriously, save for a few fringe lunatics, so the damage will be limited.
What shall we make of this claim? That he is lying? That he is delusional? That it was just a temper tantrum and that words that come out of his mouth are insignificant and should be ignored? I'm not sure which explanation I want to be true.
This is the president we elected. This is the president we deserve. In the words of a very successful marketer, "Sad!"
As for the recount itself, while I, and indeed almost everyone, thinks it is a waste of time, it is being conducted in accordance with the laws of the state of Wisconsin, and recounts might be conducted in the states of Michigan and Pennsylvania, in accordance with their laws as well. I don't know if there are any other states whose deadlines for recounts has not yet passed, but there may be recounts in other places as well.
Jill Stein, who is leading the recount effort, has, like Trump, also suggested the possibility of vote fraud, so perhaps some think I ought to be outraged at her as well. However, there are several differences between her and Trump. First and foremost, we don't take her seriously anyway. Not only did she lose, she isn't even a significant national politician. Who cares what she thinks? Second, she did not allege that there were millions of fraudulent votes. She is alleging that it is worth investigating whether or not there might have been a much smaller level of fraud. While I disagree that there is any reason to believe in any vote fraud, she is simply saying that there is enough unusual activity to warrant a closer look, and she is following the legal procedures for doing so. The process is in place. She has exercised her rights under the laws of those states. While we may not take the effort seriously, we are bound to follow it.
A beginning like this does not bode well for his term as president. I did not like Trump, and my dislike for him was not rooted in ideology, but rather in his lack of self control. His campaign staff had to force him to shut up on his Twitter account so as not to alienate more voters. Apparently, now that the election is over, there is no one with the ability to rein him in.
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2fGSER9
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