by Daniel Oliver
How do Democrats complain? Let’s count the ways.
In January 2017, seven House Democrats (Jim McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Pramila Jayapal, Raul Grijalva, Sheila Jackson Lee, Barbara Lee, and Maxine Waters) formally opposed the certification of the state’s elections.
In announcing her challenge, Barbara Lee said factors such as “malfunctioning voting machines” and “instances of intimidation and misinformation at polling places” were “clear evidence of widespread voter suppression.”
Jamie Raskin said the 2016 election was “seriously tainted by everything from Vladimir Putin’s cyber sabotage to deliberate Republican voter suppression in many swing states.” Ah, yes, that cunning elderly Vladimir Putin – he’s a clever guy, that’s true.
No senator was convinced by House Democrats’ arguments, meaning the issue of objecting to the election was not considered.
Democratic Congressman John Lewis (also a “civil rights activist”) did not attend Trump’s inauguration, saying he “does not view this president-elect as a legitimate president.”
In January 2017, Senator Bernie Sanders dodged the question of whether Trump was the rightful president by responding that Trump “will be inaugurated” but had “great concerns about the role Russian hacking played in his election.” Normal. Those cunning Russians again.
In January 2017, Jerry Nadler, former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, stated that Trump’s election was “illegal.” Nadler said: “He was legally elected, but the Russian influence on the election, the Russian attempt to hack the election and, frankly, the FBI influence on the election, in my opinion, make his election illegal, puts an asterisk next to his name.” Yes, right.
In January 2017, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz dodged questions about Trump’s electoral credentials in an interview on CNN: “I think there’s no question that the outcome of this election was influenced by… Russian interference.” (You can’t make this up!)
During a campaign rally in May 2019, Joe Biden (the same Joe Biden who is currently US president) said he “totally agreed” with one audience member who called Trump an “illegitimate president.”
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly questioned Trump’s electoral credentials.
In September 2017, Clinton stated that she “did not” rule out challenging the legality of the 2016 election, but “simply [didn’t] “we think we have a mechanism” to challenge the results. Perhaps understandably, she did not raise the issue of Russian interference. I wonder why not.
In September 2019, Clinton said Trump “knows he’s an illegitimate president” and “understands that they used a lot of different tactics, from voter suppression and voter purging to hacking and fake stories…. those are just a few of the different reasons why the election turned out the way it did.” [sic] it happened.”
In July 2020, Clinton stated that “Trump’s only fear is that Americans will “see how illegitimate his victory actually was.”
In October 2020, Clinton said Atlantic that “there was a common understanding of this [the 2016] the elections were not up to par. We still don’t know what really happened.”
In January 2005, 31 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to reject Ohio’s electoral votes after Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) mounted a challenge to the state’s electors.
Democrats who voted to reject Ohio’s electors argued that the action was necessary to address “numerous, serious electoral irregularities” that led to “substantial voter disenfranchisement.”
House Democrats voting “yes” for the proposal included Barbara Lee (D-CA), Maxine Waters (D-CA), now House Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-SC), and now Sen. Ed Markey (D -MA).
In 2006, DNC Chairman Howard Dean stated that “there is no certainty that the Ohio election was fairly decided. . . . We know there was significant voter suppression and the machines were not reliable. It’s clear.”
Senators who expressed support for the motion to challenge Ohio’s electors included Sens. Dick Durbin (currently Senate Majority Whip) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Durbin: “Some may criticize our colleague from California for bringing us here for this short debate. I thank her for this because it gives members an opportunity to take a second, bipartisan look at the challenge we face not just in the last election in one state, but in many states.”
Van Hollen: “I believe that Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) have performed a very valuable public service by bringing this debate to Congress.”
In 2004, Rep. Jerry Nadler repeatedly argued that voting machines and paper ballots were subject to fraud that required an investigation. In November 2004 he said: ‘We are calling for an investigation into all allegations of irregularities involving electronic and other voting machines. . . . Paper ballots are extremely susceptible to fraud.” He must be joking!
And of course there’s Stacy Abrams; She Still maintains that she won the 2018 election for governor of Georgia.
All the Democrat complaints, election loss after election loss – where was Liz Cheney when we needed her?
Now it appears Biden officials are already preparing to contest the upcoming election if Biden loses. But you can bet your bottom (highly inflated) dollar that they will beat Trump if he contests the election, if He loses.
Another election rigged? Please pass the cake.
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Daniel Oliver is chairman of the board of the Education and Research Institute and director of the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy in San Francisco. In addition to serving as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under President Reagan, he was editor-in-chief and then chairman of the board of the William F. Buckley Jr. National Review.
“Hillary Clinton” photo by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 3.0. “Joe Biden” photo by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Maxine Waters” by Maxine Waters.
