From: Mark Schneider
Columbus
I fear that we are becoming a nation that embraces conspiracy theories instead of rejecting them. The moon landing, 9/11, Kennedy assassination and other conspiracy theories are all being embraced by a larger segment of the country every year. The newest conspiracy theory being perpetrated is that this election is rigged, as stated by my party’s nominee, Donald Trump.
I cannot overstate how dangerous it is to try to legitimize that idea. Yes, media coverage is not fair, but to suggest that the winner of any election — from the presidency down to a local official — is not the true legitimate winner is perhaps the greatest threat our democracy and republic can face. It delegitimizes not just the president, every member of Congress and state and local officials, but the entire system itself. It delegitimizes our institutions and traditions. It delegitimizes the idea of America.
It says Lincoln’s idea in the Gettysburg Address of “government of the people, by the people, for the people” is a farce. It is an insult to every elected official in our nation, is an affront upon the Constitution and must be denounced unequivocally.
And just to debunk this idea of a rigged election, please remember that elections are overseen by each state. Hundreds of thousands of Republican and Democratic volunteers work every precinct in the country. Nearly all of the most important toss-up states in the presidential election are run by Republicans. They are not going to commit or allow massive voter fraud involving millions of fraudulent votes to elect Hillary Clinton.
Instead of suggesting, promoting and/or believing the extremely dangerous and lazy argument that the election is rigged, I would suggest to my fellow Republicans that we come up with better ideas, and a better candidate, on how to improve our country. That is how Republicans have won elections in the past, and that is how we will win elections in the future.
