They’re entitled to elections by the established rules, no more nor less.
In a TV interview with CNN reporter Dana Bash, whackadoodle candidate Kari Lake said, “The real issue, Dana, is … we have Americans who don’t trust our elections.” (See story here.)
No, that isn’t the “real” issue. Lake and other Republicans are playing games. Instead of arguing there’s an actual problem with our elections, which they can’t because there isn’t, they argue that Republican voters’ belief our elections aren’t fair makes them unfair. That’s a stupid argument that doesn’t deserve the time of day. It’s like saying if you don’t have appendicitis, but are convinced you do, your doctor has to operate on you.
Lake has called the 2020 election “stolen,” but when pressed for evidence, doesn’t have any; that’s a real issue. When asked if she’ll accept the 2022 Arizona election results if she loses, she refuses to answer; that’s a real issue. People like her are trying to supersede our voting rights with their subjective feelings; that’s the real issue.
People who believe lies are entitled to their feelings, but not to elections they trust (i.e., their candidate wins no matter what). Acceptable standards for determining the trustworthiness of our elections are: Every adult citizen is entitled to vote; voting will be made easy, not hard; every vote is counted, and the count is honest and accurate; and the candidate with the most votes wins.
These standards are objective and fair to all sides. Lake’s party has violated every one of them. The GOP suppresses voting, wanted to throw out legitimate votes, and tried to overturn a presidential election. You can’t have a conversation with people behaving in bad faith; I want our elections protected from them. Remember the mobs who pounded on windows at election offices chanting “stop the count”? Think about what they were saying: They don’t want other peoples’ votes counted.
It’s possible Lake will become Arizona’s governor and refuse to certify the legitimate winner of her state’s 2024 electoral votes. If that happens, a judge should step in and certify the election in her place. But a far better solution is not electing this lunatic in the first place. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.