The 'sore loser effect': Rejecting election results can destabilize democracy and drive terrorism

The idea that a bunch of Halloween characters, called to battle by the Great Pumpkin could reverse the presidential election is beyond mere stupidity. 

Agreed. And yet, that's the line being pushed in all seriousness by the Democrats.

Oh dear, a typo in the end. Please read the last line as: "Few took Hitler seriously and few could imagine that Trump could become President."

The Trump riot to reverse a fair election in which Biden was he clear winner reminds me of the lines "In dubious battle on the plains of heaven" from Paradise Lost. What I have seen in reruns is the the abject stupidity of the Trump people. The idea that a bunch of Halloween characters, called to battle by the Great Pumpkin could reverse the presidential election is beyond mere stupidity. It would be comical were people not killed. And it would not be funny to realize that demagogues' first acts seem too stupid to take seriously. I think of Hitler's beer hall putsch speech. Few took Hitler seriously and few could imagine that Trump come become President.

When Dick Cheney and his daughter call you out, you have really made a big mistake.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dick-cheney-capitol-jan-deeply-disappointed-gop-leadership/story?id=82112349

An excerpt from Al Gore's concession speech after losing the 2000 election that is worth thinking about on this day:

"Over the library of one of our great law schools is inscribed the motto, "Not under man but under God and law." That's the ruling principle of American freedom, the source of our democratic liberties. I've tried to make it my guide throughout this contest as it has guided America's deliberations of all the complex issues of the past five weeks.

Now the U.S. Supreme Court has spoken. Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court's decision, I accept it. I accept the finality of this outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College. And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.

I also accept my responsibility, which I will discharge unconditionally, to honor the new president elect and do everything possible to help him bring Americans together in fulfillment of the great vision that our Declaration of Independence defines and that our Constitution affirms and defends."

Everything points out to it, it's as clear as winter ice. It's treason and Donald Jerk Trump raped America one year ago today.

You know I am not a supporter of Donald Trump or his big lie, but I think you need to read Article III, Section 3 of the US Constitution before calling an act "treason". Treason is the one and only crime defined in the US Constitution and it is defined extremely narrowly. This was deliberate, to prevent a future government from charging legitimate political opposition as treason and using this as an excuse to jail political opponents the way King George would. Donald Trump and others did some things that are probably crimes, but treason is not one of those crimes. Please be careful with what you accuse people of. Treason is a very dangerous term to start throwing at your political opposition.

zichiJan. 6  11:54 pm JST

President Joe Biden blames Donald Trump for the riot at the US Capitol, in a speech at Congress one year on.

Everything points out to it, it's as clear as winter ice. It's treason and Donald Jerk Trump raped America one year ago today.

So far as kidnapping a governor, shown to be an FBI plot from the get-go. The insurrection? Not a single charge of insurrection among all those arrested - and the only serious violence was a trigger happy cop murdering an unarmed woman point blank. You people feed on these lies all day long and they come out as hate for anyone who has a different opinion than the one you are told to have.

So, yeah, this sort of tribalism will destabilize any country, and quite often ends in genocide. Happy hunting.

Bingo, just let the Dems focus on Jan 6. and the Republicans need to not take their eye off November, Dems are just fleeing the party like rats from a sinking ship, once their back in power watch them start their own investigations and then watch the left cry foul, just watch.

More mega-fairy tales from MAGA-world....tomorrow it will be Elvis disguised as an FBI agent...

Simply a fact. But you would have to read about it to know. If you depend on CNN and the like, they are heavily staffed with FBI, CIA, etc. people. You probably think that's a fantasy too, but it can be verified by simply looking at their website. They have you people so well trained that they don't even need to hide it. (Yes, "you people". Are you ashamed of your tribe?)

More violent rhetoric - thanks for proving my point...

Reading comprehension issues. Which I suppose is why there is no point.

So far as kidnapping a governor, shown to be an FBI plot from the get-go.

More mega-fairy tales from MAGA-world....tomorrow it will be Elvis disguised as an FBI agent...

More comedy than SNL...

You people feed on these lies all day long and they come out as hate for anyone who has a different opinion than the one you are told to have.

"You people"? That says it all...

So, yeah, this sort of tribalism will destabilize any country, and quite often ends in genocide. Happy hunting.

More violent rhetoric - thanks for proving my point...

We saw it all during the Trump years - far-right terrorists planning to kidnap and murder te Michigan Governor, death threats to Dr Fauci, and most obvious the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan 6th.

And this violence is fed by a far right media hate machine and its complicit Repub politicians...

So far as kidnapping a governor, shown to be an FBI plot from the get-go. The insurrection? Not a single charge of insurrection among all those arrested - and the only serious violence was a trigger happy cop murdering an unarmed woman point blank. You people feed on these lies all day long and they come out as hate for anyone who has a different opinion than the one you are told to have.

So, yeah, this sort of tribalism will destabilize any country, and quite often ends in genocide. Happy hunting.

An attendee at an October 2021 political rally hosted by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk asked: “How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?”

BINGO! There it is summarized in one sentence....

This is what Trump and MAGA-world has brought to us - a two-year old mentality when it comes to losing - yell and scream "rigged" at the top of your lungs, even though its all a fairy tale....

And then we get to the real danger - the call to violence. We saw it all during the Trump years - far-right terrorists planning to kidnap and murder te Michigan Governor, death threats to Dr Fauci, and most obvious the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan 6th.

And this violence is fed by a far right media hate machine and its complicit Repub politicians...

Will it end? Only if the Republican Party can rid itself of its far-right violent fringe...

Given all the Repub pols who blamed Jan 6th on the President, then cowardly walked those comments back, it seems doubtful...

“How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?”

Let me guess... mask-wearers first?

Perhaps the arrest earlier this week of Russian business Vladislav Klyushin will clear this up. He and several others has been accused of hacking into the computer systems of companies such as Tesla. A connection to the 2016 hacking of Democratic emails? Not proven, yet. But...

The sad thing about the former President is that he actually had a chance to get beyond the Democratic and Republican impasse. Remember his meeting with Sen. Schumer and Speaker Pelosi? Had he been seen as making a deal to bring both parties together, we would be talking about a different American political reality. Instead...

The majority of Democrats believed that the 2016 election results were not valid, and most even believed a year later that Russia had rigged the elections.

That is not true. Not true at all. There was no widespread challenge of the actual vote count as there was in 2000 in Florida. Nobody argued the vote counts were in any way fraudulent and it is a misrepresentation of fact to say that. The anger among many Democrats is with an Electoral College system that allows the loser of the popular vote to become President anyway. This is what happened in 2000 and again in 2016 with tragic results for the nation both times.

The majority of Democrats believed that the 2016 election results were not valid, and most even believed a year later that Russia had rigged the elections. This author is right, the left are and their big lies were destabilizing to democracy.

But he ignores all that and instead contributes more to the division - because he wants to suppress democracy.