The Dupes of Hazard

For more than four years we have suffered extremely dangerous systematic attacks on the most essential value of our democratic Republic: the truth.

Immigrants are, “rapists and murders”. Violent racists and anti-Semites are, “good people”. Covid is no worse than seasonal flu and will just, “disappear”. Climate change is a myth, a “Chinese attack on the American economy”. And now, Donald Trump, having lost the election by more than 7,000,000 votes, in a desperate attempt to overturn the results of our democratic election has made up the biggest whopper of all: that he lost the election because of, “massive voter fraud”. Needless, to say, there is not a shred of evidence of any such voter fraud.

It is not surprising that Donald Trump is yelling to the high heavens that he could not possibly have lost the election. Nor that he has concocted a laughable tale that he was the victim of mysterious massive voter fraud, of which neither he, nor anyone else has any evidence.

What is astonishing, however, is the assortment of Republican members of Congress, including Judy Hice, who have chosen to pretend that Donald Trump’s wild tale is true.

Of course, there is no evidence whatsoever of “massive voter fraud”. Donald Trump brought more than 60 lawsuits in courts throughout the United States. Eighty judges, including all the members of the Supreme Court, issued judgments, often in scathing terms, that Donald Trump and the other plaintiffs failed utterly to present any evidence of significant voter fraud. Even Bill Barr, the then US Attorney General and who dedicated his term of office to defending the interests of Donald Trump, stated he saw no evidence of any such thing.

At the insistence of Donald Trump and his supporters, Georgia re-counted the votes three times. The Republican Secretary of State and Governor, both strong supporters of Donald Trump, certified the election results.

It is long past time to put an end to this farcical attack on our national election results and on our democracy. We must hold to account the willing pawns who would destroy our democracy in a mindless effort to support Donald Trump, truly the "Dupes of Hazard".

Bruce Menke

Athens