I appreciate different viewpoints, but I am tired of people who continue to spread baseless claims of fraud in last November’s election. John O’Rourke (My Turn: ‘Sixty days’) recently stated that “The hard evidence of election fraud … is reportedly in the hands of U.S. intelligence agencies loyal to our constitutional republic …. This will soon be revealed to the public.”
With respect (and exasperation), no, sir, it’s not, and it won’t.
This is not complicated. If there were evidence of election fraud, local elections officials — many of whom supported and voted for Donald Trump — would know about it. They wouldn’t have had to give it to “U.S. intelligence agencies.” Why would they? They could just bring it to the courts.
Trump and his supporters filed over 50 legal cases; none of them presented any evidence of fraud, and most were thrown out by judges (again, some of whom were Trump supporters, and even appointees) who criticized the plaintiffs for wasting the court’s time. There. Is. No. Evidence. Even Sidney Powell is now saying that “no reasonable person” would believe her claims that there was. Mr. O’Rourke — are you listening?
O’Rourke went on to say, “The enemy is inside the wire. I hope our military acts soon.” That’s the kind of rhetoric that can get people killed, and it’s beyond irresponsible for him to say this.
We had an election. It was hard fought on both sides. After all the votes were counted, Joe Biden won. There were challenges and recounts and all legal avenues were pursued, but in the end that result stood.
Living in a democracy means understanding and accepting the reality that your side doesn’t always win. People who truly love this country don’t retreat into conspiracy theories; they stay in the real world and work to do better next time.
Mike Naughton is a resident of Millers Falls.