Dear Editor,
Trump lost the election. As a narcissist, his greatest fear is being seen as a loser. So he built a wall of denial around himself, contending that the election was rigged. His minions brought case after case before judge after judge; all were thrown out for lack of evidence. Nevertheless, his fragile ego compels him to cower behind his Big Lie.
Initially, Republicans in authority dismissed Trump’s denial, offering to give him time to get over it. But as the Big Lie reverberated throughout rightwing media, they saw hardcore followers embracing it. Republicans now realize that fostering the stolen election falsehood gives them justification for stealing the next election, and that’s what they are fixing to do.
In some states, they are limiting access to voting booths and restricting absentee ballots. They’re replacing professional election officials with partisan apparatchiks. They are gerrymandering district boundaries to assure gaining more seats with fewer votes. They’re preparing to override their states’ Secretaries of State to enable Republican-dominated legislatures to rescind the majority outcome if it doesn’t go their way.
Limiting voting, falsifying the count, gerrymandering, and reversing the result of an election will drown our democracy. Federal election standards, proposed in the Freedom to Vote act and in the John Lewis Voting Rights act, can counter these preparations for dictatorship. Democrats must “carve out,” or bust, the Senate filibuster rule, as they have done twice this month for other purposes, and pass voter-protection laws. If they don’t use the life-preservers now, democracy will die.
Bruce Joffe
Piedmont, Calif.
Bruce:
What an alarming reading of current events. Sadly, it’s very accurate.
The Editor
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