In 1960 Richard Nixon refused to allow a recount in Illinois where it was suspected, and highly probable, that Mayor Richard Daily rigged the voting machines. Nixon’s contention was that such an action risked throwing the nation into a constitutional crisis. While never stating it, it can also be reasonably assumed he was aware that even if he did win Illinois, he would still fall short of the Electoral College votes he needed to claim the presidency. It would seem this patriotism and wisdom has escaped us today.
As far as addressing patriotism; it is clear that such an endeavor would clearly be a waste of time and effort. The contemporary view of such a notion only extends as far as the belief that if it’s something “I” want and believe in then it is patriotic to support it. Colin Kapernick’s dissent was unpatriotic while Tim Tebow’s was patriotic or vice-versa?? Both were acts of courage protected under the First Amendment. Yet good luck in trying to convince the hardliners and, one might reasonably suspect, the majority of Americans of that reality. So where does one even begin in dispelling thinking this farfetched?
As
far as the numbers and their blunt reality:
·
To
secure the presidency a candidate needs 270 Electoral votes
·
Donald
Trump is credited with 306 Electoral votes
–
290
if one refuses to accept the outcome in Michigan
·
A
recount in Wisconsin places 10 electoral votes in dispute
·
A
recount in Michigan places 16 electoral votes in dispute
·
306
– 26 (Wisconsin Plus Michigan) = 280 – Still Enough for Trump to claim the
presidency
·
A
recount in Pennsylvania places 20 electoral votes in dispute
· To topple the election, Pennsylvania must also be turned blue.
Currently President-Elect Trump has a 22,252 vote lead in Wisconsin, a 11,612 vote lead in Michigan and a whopping 68,030 vote lead in Pennsylvania.
A recently mandated recount in a Wisconsin election where the margin of victory was far less than the margin Trump enjoys, found only a 361 vote irregularity. So chances are excellent that a recount in Wisconsin will result in almost no change.
While Michigan is a tossup, the chances of reversing a 68,000 vote lead in Pennsylvania while winning Wisconsin requires a very vivid imagination.
Then we get to the ugliness that will be the ultimate result of this irrationality. As we should have learned from Al Gore’s action in 2000, these recount actions will only serve to propel further hatreds on both sides of the political spectrum. It will further divide us as a nation and retard, if not altogether prevent, the unity required to reach compromises in finding solutions to our current challenges.
This behavior is what the country feared when Trump was saying the system is rigged. Therefore, we had a reasonable expectation that Trump supporters would try to generate a constitutional crisis. Yet what we are now witnessing is those who were forcefully opposed to this expectation now engaging in it.
Would those Hillary supporters justifying this outrageous conduct justify it if Trump had won the popular vote and Hillary had won the presidency? Would Hillary supporters still be adamant in their support of a constitutional crisis through recount shenanigans and the repeal of the Electoral College if it were all perpetrated by the Trump faithful?
This is all very reminiscent of a father raising three daughters. When they were four-years-old their father was the smartest man in the world. By the time they reached 13-years-of-age he was an idiot. The constitution, like a father, is okay as long it doesn’t forbid us from lying to authority figures or breaking curfew.
We must all begin adopting Richard Nixon’s patriotism and wisdom. We must begin to recognize that when our own desires become more important to us than the constitution, we are no longer Americans.
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