Voter Recount Nonsense: An American Insurgency?

screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-7-38-19-amDue to the internet, the average person has access to a virtually limitless supply of information. At no time in history has it been so easy to find out just about anything we want to know.  It’s all well and good to have access to such an abundance of information but the mistake that most people make is this: Access to information doesn’t equate to wisdom.

Being able to understand the deeper meaning of great works of literature isn’t the same as being able to recite facts pertaining to said literature. I don’t care how much information you possess. It isn’t the same as the ability to think critically and analytically. I totally reject any notions that some people are inherently born more intelligent than others. I think of the brain as a muscle. If you exercise your brain by reading, thinking, and analyzing you are going to be far more intelligent than if you decide to consume nothing but television.

Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?

I think it’s a serious issue when people demand action based on the fact they don’t like the results of a valid and democratic process. It could be argued that as a free people, it is our duty to oppose tyrannical and illegal actions by government. If our rights as guaranteed by the Constitution are violated, I totally agree with protesting and resisting the actions of the Federal government. I can understand that. I can’t understand taking to the streets demanding the results of a valid election be nullified and I certainly don’t understand or agree with anyone who actually tries to manipulate election results after the fact.

Donald Trump is the President-elect. End of story. It was one thing for the media to portray him as the villain during the campaign. He was a candidate at that time and as such the functioning of the United States Government was not tied to Trump. However, that has all changed. Whether people like it or not, Trump won the election. Though he hasn’t taken office yet, his role has drastically changed. The man whose best known catch-phrase is: “You’re fired!” Is now responsible for making appointments. This means his top priority now is HIRING roughly 4,000 people for tasks vital to this country.

The last thing this man needs is unnecessary distractions. Trump is no longer a private citizen. He is now the future President of this country and as such people need to start differentiating between Trump the man and the Office of President of the United States. Even President Obama recognizes this and has offered assistance with the transition. The President is the most powerful person on the planet. One of the things we should be most proud of as Americans is that the transition from one President to the next has always been peaceful.

I refuse to mention them by name because I believe their motives are self-serving if not directly influenced by sore losers, but demanding unnecessary vote recounts and attempting to delegitimize Trump’s right to act as President is hardly in the best interests of this country. How could any truly patriotic American under present circumstances possibly justify any interference with the transition of Presidential power? Clinton conceded the election on election night and Trump won the Electoral College by a comfortable margin. This isn’t Bush/Gore.

It doesn’t matter if Clinton had 2 million or 10 million more votes than Trump from the standpoint of the election rules in place for 2016. Do protestors really want to see an ex post facto law passed that says the winner of the popular vote in the 2016 Presidential Election wins the Presidency? Suppose the candidate they support loses the popular vote in the 2020 election but would have won had the Electoral College system been in place? Do we pass another ex post facto law to reinstate that system? Wouldn’t this create a politically unstable environment? Is it too much to ask that a definitive winner on election night or shortly thereafter announced as opposed to creating uncertainty?

We have the right to free speech, free assembly, and technically by law, the ability to petition for vote recounts. All three of these things, as they pertain to the present situation, are all similar in that these rights are being exercised for the wrong reasons. Further, the anti-Trump media is more than happy to publicize everything. These events are being portrayed by major news outlets in such a manner as to legitimize if not encourage such behavior. While all three things represent rights, nothing says the media has an obligation to cover such events or give them any credibility.

If Hillary Clinton actively pursued a recount in battleground states it would make sense from the standpoint that she represented one of the two major parties and received more than 40% of the vote in said states. It makes zero sense for the candidate of a third party (who only received 1% of the vote) to protest. I have never heard of anyone being cheated out of roughly 1.5 million votes in a single state. I find it more than coincidental that recounts are only being called for in battleground states and as such only stand to benefit Clinton. It’s also interesting to note that Clinton now subscribes to the concept of voter fraud albeit ex post facto. The person calling for the recount has nothing more to offer than empty rhetoric.

Trump isn’t seizing power illegally or though force. He is acting within the bounds of and accordance with the Constitution. As such Trump now represents and is part of the legitimate authority which governs this country. Insurgency is a strong word, but I’m not so sure it doesn’t apply. The honorable and more importantly, American thing to do is to respect the results of the election and not impede Trump by casting doubt on his legitimacy or encourage resistance to his assumption of Office. It needs to stop.

I don’t believe Trump to be overly vindictive. However he is a man of action. The fact that Clinton supports a recount contradicts her concession to Trump on election night. All bets are off the table now. Trump should not act like a tyrant but I think he understands that the Presidency is bigger than just one person. The integrity of the Office must be maintained and people must respect the position regardless of how they feel about Trump. Ultimately the insurgency will have to be addressed and a day of reckoning will occur. I believe the first step is for Trump to appoint a special prosecutor to make Clinton answer for her crimes. It isn’t a matter of revenge…it’s a matter of protecting the Office and sending a message that there are some lines you simply don’t cross.

 

Michael Russell

A native, of Indiana, Russell has always been interested in politics. He is a Libertarian and strong supporter of conservative causes. He has spent the last 20 years as an investment analyst. Russell and his wife Ginger have 3 children.

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