Prior to 2016, we enjoyed a period of relatively liberal candidates. That is, the major candidates generally supported the right to vote, the importance of democracy, the necessity of individual freedom, those kinds of things. They certainly weren’t always equal on this matter; Republican attacks on voting access come to mind, in particular. However, even the generation of an uneven playing field paled in comparison to what came next.
Donald Trump cannot deal with the idea of being a loser. In his mind, he is a winner, and anyone who opposes him must be the loser. They have to be. And that’s why Trump has chosen to “save face” by assaulting democracy. Repeating the dance of the past four years, the GOP has fallen in line. For the most part, Republican officials either refuse to acknowledge Biden as President-Elect, or straight-up deny the validity of the election.
70 million Americans chose a man who is perfectly happy with trashing democracy so long as it puts him on top. That’s a harrowing thought.
This is not a story that was repeated in the past few Presidential elections. Mitt Romney and John McCain fought fervently against Barack Obama, but ultimately conceded graciously. Hillary Clinton, for all the bitterness in the 2016 election, told her supporters that we must accept the election results. Even in 2000, once the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush, Al Gore conceded graciously. They understood that so long as they abide by the rules of the game, the game will go on. They may lose today, but tomorrow is a new opportunity.
(Pictured Below: Mitt Romney’s official Senate portrait. Public Domain.)
Mitt Romney is not good. On matters of environment, he would not be even close to aggressive enough; when it comes to healthcare, he stridently opposed the Affordable Care Act. During his Presidential campaign, he promised to support the Defense of Marriage Act and appoint Supreme Court justices to help overturn Roe. A Romney presidency would’ve done great harm to many people.
At the same time, a Romney presidency would have left the democratic process more-or-less intact. Donald Trump seeks to demolish the democratic process. A Romney presidency would have given progressives an opportunity to fight another day. Donald Trump wants to make sure that could never happen.
Mitt Romney is not nearly clear enough in his condemnation of Donald Trump’s bullshit, but he does still, tepidly, condemn it. It is not the mark of a particularly virtuous man, but it does indicate that he would respect the democratic process far more than Trump does.
As much as I dislike Romney’s positions, America would be immensely better off with a GOP full of people like him.