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No matter how aggressive Republican state legislatures have been in their efforts to kill democracy by instituting voter suppression tactics over the past 16 years, their new machinations are on par with every fascist dictator in history.
For several years Republicans have claimed that if every American is allowed to participate in the nation’s electoral process, they would never win another election. Whether that is true or not is still to be seen, but they are making fascist moves to kill democracy to stay in power.
It is true that dirty Don Trump energized his base by claiming that if he lost an election it was due to massive voter fraud, but Republicans were moving proverbial Heaven and Earth to suppress democracy long before Trump came on the scene.
Now, after 5 years of Trump’s lies that there is a concerted nationwide effort to corrupt the democratic process against him, Republicans are going forward with legislative action to make sure the next GOP fascist running for the presidency will automatically win the White House.
During the Senate’s meeting to certify the electoral college victory for President Joseph Biden, several Republicans stood up and claimed that various state election laws were “illegal and unconstitutional” because Trump lost. This was true even of state legislatures with Republican majorities that passed election laws according to the Constitution. By now only someone who’s been comatose for the past few months does not understand that what Republicans consider “illegal and unconstitutional” is counting all Americans’ ballots – especially those cast by people of color in urban areas because they tend to support Democrats.
In what might be the most revealing sign that Republicans intend to follow the likes of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial actions, an Arizona legislator submitted a bill to give the Arizona legislature authority to overturn election results that don’t favor Republicans.
According to several reports, the chair of Arizona’s state House Ways and Means Committee introduced legislation granting the state’s Republican legislature unchallenged authority to revoke the Secretary of State’s electoral college certification at any time before the presidential inauguration.
It is unclear if the Republican, Representative Shawna Bolick, is seeking a favor from dastardly Don or pandering to his base for support in the future, but the legislation is as full-throated an attack on democracy as Trump inciting an insurrection against the United States of America to remain in office.
Ms. Bolick says the legislation is simply a way to ensure election integrity, but that is precisely what Trump said to incite the deadly insurrection at the nation’s Capitol on January 6. In fact, what Bolick is proposing is precisely what Trump attempted to do in Georgia and Michigan – authorize Republicans to revoke their respective states electoral college votes and declare him president.
Sadly, the situation in Arizona is not unique. In Republican controlled states a rash of new voter suppression laws are being introduced to guarantee Republicans win every election going forward. Republicans in red and battleground states across the nation are citing Trump’s fraudulent claims of voter fraud, and the Trump–incited declining trust in election integrity, as the reason for subverting the electoral process in favor of Republican candidates.
In fact, several Republicans are quite blunt about the motivation for suppressing the vote saying they don’t believe they can ever win unless they change election laws to favor Republican candidates. One such Republican, Alice O’Lenick, who serves on Georgia’s board of elections said:
“They don’t have to change all of the rules, but they’ve got to change the major parts of them so we at least have a shot at winning.”
The so-called “major parts” Republicans object to are anything that allows all citizens to vote. Whether it is early voting, same-day registration, or mail-in/absentee ballots; Republican want them ended because if every American’s vote is counted Republicans don’t “have a shot at winning. The fascist pigs may as well just say out loud that only Republican votes count.
None of this started with Trump, but he spent five years instilling distrust in the electoral system because he lost the popular vote in 2016 and lost the election in 2020. Trump doesn’t care one iota about election integrity any more than his Republican enablers do; like Republicans across the nation he just doesn’t want Americans’ ballots to count unless they are for a Republican.
Despite Trump’s or Republicans’ claims to the contrary, America does not have an election integrity problem and they know it. The real issue has nothing to do with election integrity and everything to do with holding power at all costs. If it means only counting ballots cast for Republican candidates, or forcibly suppressing free and fair elections, what Republicans and their demigod Trump support is fascism.
Trump, with valuable assistance from Republicans, inflicted a world of damage on America in four catastrophic years. But the most damage by far was, and still is, the fascist cabal’s damage to the nation’s democracy and attempted rejection of the will of the people by an authoritarian dictator – the definition of fascism.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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