Fraud! (Kinda)
The Republican Party's Incredibly Unclear and Confusing Claims of 2024 Election Fraud
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Be sure to enjoy the turkey and, more importantly, the company of friends and family.
First, some housekeeping. Stay tuned for part 2 of “Why I Was Wrong And Where I Was Right” sometime soon. Otherwise, in this critical time for the future of democracy, I plan on playing my own small part in holding the Trump Administration accountable. I hope you all—in your own little ways—can do the same with me. We are stronger together.
Or, as Ben Franklin once said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Sorry, just a bit of gallows humor (ba-dum tssshhhh).
But I digress. Today, I wanted to lighten the mood a little bit with a quick reflection on the Republican Party’s selective crusade against “election fraud.”
Remember when I talked about how the Republican Party had been awfully quiet about the election rigging conspiracy this time around? Well, now that Democrats are set to gain seats in the House, some Republicans are sounding off on the “corrupt” and “rigged” California House elections.
Again, it is apparently only rigged when they lose. Let’s break down these wild and crazy claims. First of all, California has always been slow in counting its ballots. It has been historically known for doing so. Why?
No, not because “millions” voted illegally in past elections, despite Trump’s statements to the contrary. In fact, ironically enough, California takes a longer time to count its votes partly because of…special anti-fraud measures for…you guessed it, mail ballots. You see, California “is one of several states that mails a ballot to every active registered voter.” Beyond that, it also takes so long to count the ballots because California has both “a late deadline for receipt of mail ballots and many ballots” to count.
To be clear, there is much to dislike about California politics, even as a Democrat. Still, here they are at least trying to strike an admirable balance. Get as many people as possible involved in the political process while keeping the safeguards against fraud intact. If the Republican Party was really sincere about preventing voter fraud for the sake of democracy, wouldn’t they want this?
(Personally, I only wish California would be more efficient with it. The suspense is killing me).
Still, that’s not even the most compelling argument against voter fraud. Let’s just apply a little bit of common sense for a second. Currently, Republicans seem poised to control the House in January 2025 with only a 2-vote majority (217-215). 2 years ago, they gained control with a more comfortable 222-213 majority.
Only 2 extra Democratic seats? For a party that supposedly rigged the entire election in 2020, you would think Democrats would do better at rigging a handful of congressional races this time around. Especially in “Crazy [Democrat] California,” of all places. But wait, it gets worse. Why do Republicans have only 217 House seats instead of, say, 220?
Hmm. Let’s see. Let’s figure this out. Trump nominated three members of the House for positions in his new Administration: Matt Gaetz, Elise Stefanik, and Mike Waltz. Of the three, two of them (Stefanik and Waltz) have to give up their House seats to accept the nominations. The other, Gaetz,—well, let’s just say he had some troubles relating to a congressional report and a few 17-year-old girls.
Okay, let’s do the math. Since those 3 House seats are vacant for now, Trump cost the Republican Party 3 seats in the House. And that, my friends, is why Republicans have such a slim majority right now.
So, here’s my question: how did Democrats rig the election knowing the whole time Trump would take 3 House members out of Congress? Were they just that smart? Or was Trump in on the job the whole time?
Maybe Trump is a Democrat in disguise? Or are House Democrats secretly in league with MAGA? I’m confused. Though maybe I shouldn’t be. Why should I expect any sort of consistency from a party whose leader is a pathological liar?
President Biden once said, “you can’t only love your country when you win.” In the aftermath of this election, he has lived that out in words and in deeds. When Democrats lost—even to a man as dangerous to the country and its democracy as Donald Trump—President Biden placed his faith in the American people. To eventually chart the right course. What a contrast to self-interested MAGA politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kari Lake. Whenever they lose, they just cry foul and call it a day.
And if you are Kari Lake, you complain that Mitch McConnell didn’t give you enough money to win the election that was stolen from you anyways.
Makes you question whether they really believe the “election fraud” nonsense they put out, doesn’t it?