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Should We Move On from 2020?
Some of us are still talking about the 2020 election. Some people dare to think–brace yourselves, now–that the election was not entirely ok. Some of them might even dare to think that certain illegalities might have flipped swing states. (Gasp!) Some people even think that the election was rigged or stolen. (Double gasp!)
But why don’t we just move on? Why are so many Republicans voting for candidates who think the 2020 election was stolen? Why do we keep trying to relitigate 2020? Allow me to explain.
No one I know of is trying to relitigate 2020. Maybe I’ve missed something, but this looks to me like a misunderstanding–perhaps a cavil, a canard, or a straw man. All we’re trying to do is: (1) know what happened and (2) reform, as needed, our elections.
Knowing what happened is a good reason to keep talking about it at least until we do know. Knowing is reason enough.
Reform is a better reason. Can knowledge ever be complete if it is not put into action?
But, you ask, why don’t we just move on? Why don’t we just fix the problems we have now, and forget about 2020? Why talk about our problems with the election instead of just talking about inflation, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and everything else?
What Does It Mean To Move On?
Suppose a couple of college roommates start doing a lot of drugs together. One day they both take too much and go into comas. Someone finds them in time, and they get rushed to the hospital, where they barely survive.
Afterward, one guy flushes all his drugs and joins a 12-step program. The other guy goes back to doing the same drugs, about as much as before. His friends and family remind him what happened, but, as he reminds them in turn, his hospital adventure is in the past. He just wants to move on, he says.
Now I ask you: Which of the two really wanted to move on?
If something bad happened in the past, if the problem that caused it is still there, and if you aren’t addressing that problem, then you aren’t really moving on.
I think that’s where most people are who are worried about the security of American elections and are still talking about what happened in 2020. We’re not saying Biden isn’t the President. But moving on doesn’t mean not talking about 2020 or ignoring the fact that we have recently had at least one very insecure, very consequential national election in the United States of America.
And We Do Have a Problem
Since the week of the election, I’ve been keeping a list of claims made about election cheating. (Below, in the first comment on this post, are some links to my work.) I’ve been trying to sort the claims by category, by whether they’ve been critically scrutinized, and by whether they’ve survived critical scrutiny. I’ve been evaluating claims where I can. Claims that have survived some critical scrutiny and which are, as far as I can tell, more likely than not indicate illegally cast or counted votes numbering more than double the Biden margin of victory in five swing states. Some of the relevant claims have actually been verified–affecting three swing states. In two of those states, the claims have been verified in court.
Not every category of votes illegally cast or counted is a category of fraudulent votes, and not every category is a category of specifically Biden votes. But some are Biden votes, some are fraudulent, and the non-fraudulent ones tend to enable fraud. It’s much more likely than not that these illegalities flipped most or all of these five swing states, but the mere fact that illegalities occurred at this level is, all by itself, a national disgrace five times over.
So we have a real problem with election integrity in America.
That’s all without even looking at the fancier allegation–the ones about electronic illegality. We’re not ok on the electronic side of things either. Three words: “VVSG 2.0 standards.”
Yes, Let’s Move On!
Moving on from the 2020 election means learning what actually happened in that election as much as we can; and, above all, it means fixing the problem. That means cutting back on Big Tech’s ability to shift elections; it means more state prosecution of election lawbreaking; it means a lot less mail-in voting; it means more voter ID laws; it means updating the voter rolls; and it means VVSG 2.0 standards in 50 states.
The Biden administration is dreadful, the problems of 2022 are screaming to be fixed, and I have a limited supply of time and brain cells. Yes, let’s move on from the 2020 election. Please. But let’s do it properly.
Published in General
He doesn’t think 2020 was stolen/rigged/whatever, but he still wants more election security even though there’s clearly no real need for it.
I don’t know. Trying to figure out the past is already more than I can handle.
Yes.
Have you contacted your state government about VVSG 2.0?
I am so sorry to hear that. I wish you all of my personal best and prayers.
I want to honor my fellow Ricochetti who are concerned. Any system can be improved. Let’s do it!
The election was not stolen.
Both parties have tried to “rig” the system since parties were established. For example, New York’s polls close at 9:00 p.m.! Arizona has tried to counteract Motor Voter by giving a 16 year old a 49 year driver’s license!
But any system can be improved.
Not yet. Thank you for reminding me.
https://ricochet.com/1008055/1-who-fact-checks-the-fact-checkers
https://ricochet.com/1334554/two-years-later-how-to-think-about-election-cheating-in-2020/
What Is Up with the Critics of the Critics of the 2020 Election?