Destroying our democracy one lie at a time

An effort is underway to undermine confidence in, and to destroy our democracy.

First, a president seeking re-election to a second term is defeated in a national election. The election results are confirmed by Republican and Democratic secretaries of states and governors throughout the country.

Now the lies begin.

In the absence of evidence of significant election fraud, the ex-president insists the election in many states has “been stolen”. It is a lie.

Numerous members of Congress in the ex-president’s party attempt to prevent the acceptance of the election results by Congress, even though a majority of them were elected in the very elections which they now claim were fraudulent.

The ex-president brings more than 60 lawsuits alleging fraud. Every one of them is thrown out by the judges because there is no evidence of fraud. Numerous recounts and audits also confirm the election results. The ex-president urges his supporters to attack the Congress to prevent the certification of the election results. Thousands of his supporters, believing his lie, attack the Capitol on January 6. Only heroic action by Capitol police prevents them from succeeding.

Members of the ex-president’s party in numerous state legislatures then use these false allegations of voter fraud to justify enacting state legislation to prevent or discourage voters, especially minorities, from voting, to attack bi-partisan participation on election boards and to give state legislatures the power to intervene in determining election results.

Finally, members of the ex-president’s party endeavor to prevent action by Congress to investigate the violent January 6 attack on Congress.

It is up to all of us to call out these lies and to prevent those who wish to use them to destroy our democracy from succeeding in doing so.

Bruce Menke

Athens