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When you’ve been writing columns and editorials on an almost weekly basis for 28 years, the law of averages says – like a blind squirrel finding an acorn – you’re occasionally going to pen something that has more meaning as time goes on.
My column in the Nov. 9, 2016, edition of the Cherokee Scout was about the elections that occurred the day before, which included picking our president. In it, I asked this question: “What if the losing candidate and their supporters simply refuse to accept the election’s results?”
We have now seen this happen three times in U.S. history.
1. In 1876, Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote for president, but 20 electoral votes were in dispute. Against Tilden’s wishes, Congress appointed the bipartisan Electoral Commission to settle the controversy. Republicans, who had a one-seat advantage on the Electoral Commission, decided in a series of party-line rulings that Hayes had won all of the disputed electoral votes.
What happened? In the Compromise of 1877 – an informal, unwritten deal – Democratic leaders agreed to accept Hayes as the victor in return for the end of Reconstruction. As a result, fears of a second civil war dissipated.
2. In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote for president, and the Electoral College vote came down to Florida. After state courts initially ruled in Gore’s favor, the U.S. Supreme Court eventually voted 5-4 to end Florida’s recount and hand the victory to George W. Bush.
What happened? Gore had good reason to continue to contest the results. Instead, he said, “Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it.” His selfless speech calmed the intense anger sweeping the country at that time.
3. In 2020, Joe Biden won the popular vote for president as well as the Electoral College. Yet, his opponent, Donald Trump, refused to concede the election, despite the fact that every state’s recount confirmed the original results, his own administration called the election “the most secure” in history and he lost more than 50 court challenges. Instead, he encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” to overthrow the results.
What happened? The Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol that is being called an insurrection by the bipartisan U.S. House committee investigating it. Five people, including a police officer, were killed, with damages estimated at $2.73 million. Federal and state prosecutors are also looking into a potentially criminal plan to keep Trump in office by using a different set of electors in several close states rather than those actually decided democratically on Election Day.
So here we are, more than a year and a half after the presidential election and, despite the lack of evidence, about 70 percent of Republicans still don’t believe Biden’s election was legitimate. That in itself isn’t so bad; what’s worse is the anger that so-called “Big Lie” has built among Trump’s supporters. Multiple scientific studies have shown that voters are more motivated by anger than any other emotion, and politicians love stirring that pot since it also leads to more donations.
Consider that from 1994 to 2000, according to the Pew Research Center, only 16 percent of Democrats held a “very unfavorable” view of Republicans, while 17 percent of the GOP shared that dim view of Dems. From 2000-14, those numbers sharply rose to 52 percent of each party’s members holding a “very unfavorable” view of the other.
Even worse, mentions of a “civil war” have dramatically increased in recent years, including by some members of Congress. State politicians have actively talked about seceding from the union. Some sheriffs have openly promoted resisting federal authority. Militias are arming and training themselves in preparation for the fall of the republic, led by whatever ideal of freedom or conspiracy theory that has captured their attention.
When folks start talking about “patriots” and “traitors,” the hairs on the back of my neck start standing up. Because who gets to say who is who?
There were patriots fighting in the American Revolution, but there were also patriots opposed to the war. That diversity of thought has truly helped made this country great, yet more people today seemingly want to eliminate anything and everything they don’t agree with, which is the most un-American thing I can think of.
The truth is voting, and accepting the results of those elections, is one of the most basic things that holds us together as Americans. Are we really going to throw that all away because some politicians don’t like what happened at the polls?
As I wrote six years ago, if we are truly “one nation under God,” then no election results should ever lead us to hatred and violence because we know Who really is in charge. But if we continue to treat each other as “very unfavorable” – or worse, heaven forbid – the American dream will soon become a nightmare.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on Twitter @daviddBstroh.