A serious note to my Republican subscribers: I sincerely appreciate the fact that you’re willing to consider the opinions of someone who is often in an opposite political camp. However, I have a request: PLEASE do your 2022 research and make sure you can defend the candidates you choose to support.
To be blunt, the vast majority of your 2022 nominees across the board have explicitly stated that the 2020 election was stolen despite a total lack of any evidence. They have made it abundantly clear that they will use whatever power they can grab now to declare Republican victories in future elections, regardless of the will of the voters.
I don’t understand how anyone of any political persuasion can support any candidate who cannot accept valid election results. That is the cornerstone of American democracy. And please don’t mention Hillary Clinton to me. I don’t understand the reference. She conceded the 2016 election the very next day. It’s one thing to be unhappy about election results. I’ve certainly had my fair share of unhappiness. But with VERY few exceptions, Democratic candidates accept their election loses. Republican candidates used to do so as well. But they don’t any more.
In Arizona, Kari Lake (the GOP nominee for Governor), Mark Finchem (the GOP nominee for Secretary of State), and Blake Masters (the GOP nominee for Senate) are all 2020 election-deniers and have all explicitly said that they will only support the results of their 2022 elections if they agree with them. That triple threat to democracy is sadly being repeated in several states.
In Michigan, Tudor Dixon (the GOP nominee for Governor) is a 2020 election-denier and has expressed unqualified support for the participants in the Capitol riot. Kristina Karamo (the GOP nominee for Secretary of State) has stated that the 2020 election in MI was the result of “corrupt authoritarians” despite 250 different, independent audits that verified the results.
Tim Michels, the Wisconsin GOP nominee for Governor, just recently said that “Republicans will never lose another election in Wisconsin after I’m elected governor.” While he actually said the quiet part out loud, his is by no means an isolated stance.
Ken Paxton (up for re-election as Texas’ Attorney General) even stepped out of his own state to file lawsuits on behalf of Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin challenging their 2020 election results.
All of these are blatantly undemocratic positions. And I could, unfortunately, easily go on. And on. And on.
We can have policy differences. I seriously welcome these discussions, I desperately want to find a common middle ground, and I’m reluctantly willing to agree to disagree where our political perspectives diverge too far for compromise. I have very strong opinions but I claim no divine knowledge of what is “right”. I can accept the will of the majority in our American experiment while I work to change that majority opinion. I expect the same from others.
If you can support attacks on democracy itself, you’re going to have to defend that position to me.