The Election is Rigged!!

Donald Trump does not argue point-counterpoint.   He de-legitimizes the opposition.

We are watching another iteration of the Trump technique.   It has been working for him.

I will review quickly a point I have made repeatedly because we have seen it repeatedly.  Trump does not disagree.  He de-legitimizes.    

He had ample opportunity to have disagreed with the Khan family by noting first off that their sacrifice was enormous, their son was a hero, that the war itself was wrong.  Instead his instinct was to attack the legitimacy of the Khans by speculating that she was silent because she was required to be under some weird foreign disgusting form of female repression.  His instinct was to make them seem "other", therefore not a valid accuser to judge his sacrifice and service versus their son's sacrifice and service.

We are seeing it again today in Trump's announcement that the election is "rigged."  He is attempting to de-legitimize the election.    This would be a very, very big deal if the American democracy was more fragile or if Trump's relationship to the military were better.  It is unthinkable to me that, in the aftermath of an election night loss for Trump, that Trump would call on the police or military to refuse to accept the election results because they were rigged or fraudulent and that the military should provide order and security under Trump's command.   That won't happen.  Our democracy is not that fragile.

But what we are seeing is troubling and it is exactly the prelude to authoritarian governments in Egypt and Turkey and other places:  a questioned election, mass disorder, and the military steps in to restore order.   The system of federalism helps assure this will not happen.   Each election takes place state by state.   There is no "national" election to rig.  And each state has its own police power.  If there is widespread disruption in America then the local police forces and state National Guards are empowered to deal with it.   And the armed services of the USA are in different branches.   Bottom line:  we are not in danger of a military coup.

But Trump is openly de-legitimizing the election and the results are still unknown and he has a significant chance of winning it outright.