After the 2020 election, we came perilously close to losing our democracy. In a new book by Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig, “I Alone Can Fix It,” we learn just how close we were.
After Trump’s defeat in Nov. 2020, there was discussion among Trump supporters in the Whitehouse of declaring martial law and overturning the election. General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having learned of these discussions, reportedly developed plans to circumvent any such orders. An attempt to overthrow the government would violate his oath to support and defend the Constitution. He wasn’t having any of it, and that may be why we are still in a democracy.
Now, Republicans in numerous state legislatures are moving to muscle their way into election administration, as they attempt to dislodge the executive branch and/or local election officials who, traditionally, have run our voting systems in a bipartisan way, thus making it easier to overturn future elections.
In Arizona, a Republican candidate for secretary of state is promising voters that, if elected, he’ll “make sure that Arizona is the red state it really is.” In other words, he will overturn any election that is not won by the GOP.
For years we have had fair elections run by bipartisan state and local election administrations. These GOP attempts to politicize our election administration are a not-too-subtle attempt to subvert the election process. It amounts to another attempt by a minority to take over our country. An attempted coup.
How would Republicans feel if a Democrat overturned an election won by a Republican? It could happen either way. No matter your party, we cannot let this stand. We need to continue the balanced local administration of our election that has served us for centuries.
