We rethink the week with Russell Muirhead, Chair of the Government Dept at Dartmouth College; Dean Spiliotis, Civic Scholar and Presidential Scholar at Southern New Hampshire University; Rick Newman, lobbyist and former NH state representative; and Ron Abramson, attorney at Shaheen and Gordon.
As the presidential campaign winds to an end, We are concerned about the toxicity, hostility and potential violence caused by trump and his supporters. In Texas, a convoy of pickup trucks carrying Trump supporters “trolled” a Biden-Harris bus on its way between campaign stops. The Trump trucks surrounded the Biden bus, getting so close that one of them slammed a Biden escort vehicle. Biden had to cancel some rallies because of security concerns.
We were even more shocked at Trump’s response: he tweeted “I love Texas,” as he forwarded a video of the car-slamming. Trump’s message was clear enough that in New Jersey, as we were recording today’s show, a fleet of Trump vehicles stopped – and therefore halted traffic – on the Garden State Parkway. They proceeded next to block a major bridge between New Jersey and New York.
Is this a rehearsal for even worse vigilantism on Election Day and after? Whether Trump wins or loses, he has spoken of revenge actions against “blue states.” We wonder why Trump doesn’t seem to understand that the 50 states are not “blue” or “red.” E.g., millions of people in New York voted for Trump. And a president is supposed to be president of all Americans, not just the ones who voted for him. He and his supporters seem to care only about themselves and their own self-interests.
We discuss the breakdown of communication and our lack of a general consensus about facts or truth. People hear only what appears in their own information ecosystem, and each such system is siloed off from the others. So Trump’s supporters believe him when he says that he’ll win the election and, if he doesn’t, it will mean the election was rigged. They hear the narrative that they want to hear, that affirms their pre-conceived believes and desires.
Of course, Trump has a talent for manipulating the media until it conforms to his agenda. And too many media outlets don’t challenge Trump’s narrative, don’t examine the extent to which it runs counter to our democratic constitutional system of self-government.
We talk about the relentless voter suppression efforts being made by Trump and the Republican Party. They are not only enacting rules that prevent possible opponents from voting and shut down polling places in minority neighborhoods. Republicans are even suing to stop states from counting many votes that have already been cast. And, of course, they are announcing their intent to insist that absentee ballots not be counted after the president announces his victory on election day.
We are disheartened that a major political party has adopted an election strategy of *disenfranchisement* rather than a strategy of *persuading* voters to support their policies. American democracy cannot work if we convert our political opponents into enemies. Democratic principles envision elections where candidates treat their opponents respectfully, debating issues on their merits, without demonizing their opponents or demeaning their ideas. This way, voters are enabled to vote for the candidate who will best address their needs and concerns. And after elections, when in office, democracy envisions treating one’s opponents with a similar respect, hearing their arguments, and governing in the best interests of the entire nation. We don’t convert our opponents into enemies. We don’t lock them up or eliminate them as autocrats might do. During US history, we have not turned our democracy into a dictatorship.
In the United States, it is a quadrennial source of pride and patriotism to see a peaceful transition of government to whomever has won the election. Even when an incumbent president loses an election, he has always turned over the presidency to the winner and patriotically stands behind the new American president. This is the ultimate public proclamation of freedom and democracy. We remain hopeful that Donald Trump will walk back his refusal to continue this democratic tradition and recognize the voice of the people through their votes.
