At a minimum, Americans should expect candidates who campaign for their votes to, in return, accept the decisions that voters make.
That used to be a given in U.S. politics.
Now former President Donald Trump and Republican officials across the country are making it clear that they do not accept the decisions made by voters.
That means Trump and his supporters do not accept the basic principles upon which the republic was built and sustained for more than 200 years.
The lies, litigation and new laws pushed by Trump and his supporters aren’t just an attack on every election official across the country; they’re also an effort to undermine the vote of every American.
And it’s an effort endorsed by all those Republicans who refuse to say plainly that Trump lost – fair and square, and not all that surprisingly.
The reasons that so many Republicans refuse to speak up are not important.
It doesn’t matter if they are county clerks, U.S. senators or state lawmakers. It doesn’t matter if they are loyal Trumpers, partisan strategists or mute cowards.
Trump and his supporters have been afforded ample opportunities to present their evidence of a corrupt election in courts across the land. They have failed repeatedly and consistently.
Their lawsuits only served to expose the claims made by Trump and his supporters as lies.
Failing to get any traction in the courts, Trump and his conspiracy-touting supporters have pressed state governments to overturn the election.
For example, after Trump’s supporters lost in court 40 or 50 times, they had Republicans in the Arizona statehouse create a hyper-partisan “audit” of the election in Arizona’s largest county – and pressured other states to do the same.
Kansas lawmakers are among those now calling for an audit of the November 2020 election.
First, let’s be clear: There is no legitimate evidence that the November 2020 election was stolen from Trump.
Second, the Arizona audit in no way qualified as an audit – it was an expensive performance designed to fuel partisan battles and create mistrust and doubt among the public.
Still, the Republicans running the Arizona audit found that Joe Biden won Maricopa County and that Trump lost.
Upon hearing the news, Trump again lied, claiming the audit found that he had been robbed of a win.
Then he started pressuring Arizona’s second-largest county to “audit” its 2020 election.
“Either a new election should immediately take place,” Trump declared in a statement the other day about Arizona, “or the past election should be decertified and the Republican candidate declared a winner.”
These continued attacks on U.S. election officials and our electoral process undermine not just our elections, but our faith in one another.
Republicans wear their support of Trump like bridesmaids who find themselves outfitted in the world’s ugliest dress.
Trump loyalists parade their support with pique, indignantly defending the rioting mob at the Capitol, cheering on dishonest lawsuits, and changing voting and election laws to help Trump win next time.
The silent enablers disguise their distaste of the former president as partisan loyalty or even patriotism, thereby endorsing the lies Trump uses to generate contributions, controversy and confusion.
Republicans who refuse to play along – who won’t wear the world’s ugliest dress and declare it divine – are targeted for insults, demotions, campaign challenges, censorship and even death threats.
It’s way past time that reputable Republicans clearly and plainly chose the American people over party; the law over lies; and the Constitution over the antics of a losing presidential candidate.
A Plains View 