Elections are under attack.
Conspiracies. Complaints. Harassment. Threats.
It happened here, too, in Southern Oregon.
On November 24, three weeks after the 2020 election, Jackson County Clerk noticed something painted on the asphalt of the parking lot across from the Elections Division. Vandals left a five gallon paint bucket, a paint brush, and these words: "VOTE DONT WORK. NEXT TIME BULLETS."
Walker said she understood the value of getting the information about harassment in front of the public, but wanted to do it "without sensationalizing incidents such as this [and] without empowering or validating the behaviors."
She said her hope was that by being transparent about the procedures within her election office people would be given confidence in election security. She wished that voters concerned about election integrity would "reach out and get the fact from the trusted source, your local election office, not from a random social media posting or other online source."
At no point in a 70-minute interview did Walker ever utter the word "Trump" nor refer to him even indirectly. Walker is studiously careful not to appear partisan, even to the point of not pointing out the obvious and consequential fact that the former president continues to insist that the 2020 election was subject to massive fraud in multiple states. Trump influences opinions. Polls of Republican voters indicate that a majority agree with Trump.
Walker returned from an international conference of election officials last week where she heard an earful of comments from her peers around the country. Election results can be checked, rechecked, counted, recounted, and audited, and still election departments nationwide face wild accusations of fraud.
I heard the same dialogue from other election officials as we are experiencing here in Oregon--people with suspicions of fraud, miscounts, faked ballots, forgeries, stuffed ballot boxes, etc. Peers discussed issues such as how people around the country with no knowledge of how elections are conducted are making guesses and suppositions, even criminal accusations. The most common theme was concerning just how much misinformation and disinformation is circulating on social media and other media. Many jurisdictions, but not all, are similar to Jackson County, having paper ballots that provide physical evidence of ballots cast, subject to audit and re-counts. Election officials agree that our electorate are being misinformed of just how many safeguards there are at every step in conducting elections--so they assume the worst-case scenario.
What I do know: The election in Jackson County, Oregon was fair and accurate and can stand up to close scrutiny. Fellow election officials gave me the same response and are confident elections within their jurisdictions were the same.
Who painted the "VOTE DONT WORK. NEXT TIME BULLETS" on the pavement? The vandals have not been apprehended. The words are part of a bigger story of people influenced by political leaders to believe that elections and election officials cannot be trusted, that fraud is rampant, and that the will of the people can be expressed by "patriots" using direct action that includes threats of violence.
We won it by a landslide. This was not a close election. . . It's a disgrace. There's never been anything like that. You can take third world countries just take a look take third world countries their elections are more honest than what we have been going through in this country. It's a disgrace. It's a disgrace. . . . We will not let them silence your voices. We're not going to let it happen. Not going to let it happen.
The crowd broke into a chant:
Fight for Trump. Fight for Trump. Fight for Trump. Fight for Trump. Fight for Trump. Fight for Trump.
Trump said, "Thank you."
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Just a thought: could Americans’ obsession with college and professional sports and the way we often base our identities on our teams be a part of the nourishing soil for the Trump Won lie? Are MAGA hats and Trump flags just another manifestation of Giants caps and Red Sox banners? Has any research been done correlating the two? Curious 🧐. I don’t remember seeing “Hillary Won” banners festooned on homes or waving on poles attached to speeding Priuses.
ReplyDeleteHow the elites broke trust with the people, which led to the possibility of a politician like Trump.
ReplyDelete—————————————————————
HOW THE BOBOS BROKE AMERICA
The creative class was supposed to foster progressive values and economic growth. Instead we got resentment, alienation, and endless political dysfunction.
By David Brooks
link
Does anyone else out there feel like a frog in a kettle with the temperature slowly heading one degree at a time for the boiling point?
ReplyDeleteIn recent years, there have been dissatisfaction regarding election outcomes. Each election cycle seems to raise the rhetoric as it asymptotically approaches 11.
ReplyDeleteThere have been the hanging chads, the controversial election of Christine Gregoire, the House District 2 2020 election, and of course the 2020 Presidential election.
Hugh Hewitt published a book years ago,
"If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat".
And that's just to name a few.
We have Biden as our President, and will get a chance to reelect him, or another in 2024.
Were there problems with the 2020 election? Perhaps. In the meantime, the media and pundits can't help themselves. They're all looking for eyeballs to read their take on that dissatisfaction.
In my mind, there's plenty of things more important to worry about. Sure, some effort to tighten up voting methods and security, and fix known mistakes that may have occured. And of course, follow the laws for conducting elections. In the meantime, let's get on with the nations business.
I know I keep beating this drum, but how is this incident anything but the actions of a mentally ill person or persons? Someone more balanced might be deterred by the possibility of a camera on the lot for starters; there is a brazenness that suggests a mental state on the edge. What would the perp be thinking they would accomplish?
ReplyDeletePretty risky behavior, thoughtless, stupid...
Jan. 6?
Some people think they can take advantage of the situation, and push people's buttons.
ReplyDeleteNot something I would do.
Many people have faults, for certain. Alas, I'm simply a degreed engineer and marketing professional; certainly not able to diagnose nor treat mental illness.
Perhaps we are "overthinking" our problem, the refusal of a substantial number of Americans to consider the Covid pandemic a genuine threat to man's very existence. Whether they wish to admit it or not, every person with a liberal bent in our nation secretly considers (never say it publicly) Republicans as quintessential morons who try to cover their inadequacies by simply defying common sense. (social programs, Medicare, unemployment insurance, are all an aberration to be fought at every level (of course one partakes eagerly if fate deals one a bad hand) A prime example of this is evident when one casts an eye on our political map. Liberals quickly discern that growing crops is a mug's game in which fate often interferes in the form of inclement weather (too much rain/drought) locusts, and various plant diseases that seem to appear for no good reason along with virulent pesticides that often do more damage to those applying them than to the intended target,) IN short, over our nation the politically backward segment of our population 'stayed home" where they felt "safe" and has always stubbornly opposed any and all change as the work of the devil. In short the "smart" people "go to the city to compete and the dopes stay home and exist in a state of vegetation. Refusing to vaccinate becomes a political statement, not a rational decision. Unfortunately, in the name of personal freedom our society has opted to honor a code of personal rights established (and badly needed) at the inception of our nation without regard to the responsibilities that should always accompany those rights. Until we establish those responsibilities we shall remain at loggerheads with the naysayers who deny the benefits of modern medicine but believe in Noah's Ark and the ability of Santa's reindeer to fly. Stupidity is stupidity and should never be confused with intelligent assessment of a problem
ReplyDeleteBob Warren
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