Where to from Here?
70% of Republicans still believe the election was stolen despite the overwhelming evidence to
he contrary. Still, they have bought into the idea that if Trump says it’s so, then it’s so. There is
no arguing with someone so entrenched in the vast conspiratorial nature of these claims. “Stop
the Steal” is a creation of the felon, Roger Stone. It has no merit, but it is the gospel for so manyAmericans. More disturbing is the notion of “civil war” surfacing. Many Republicans believe that they are not being heard; that the insurrection was triggered by the fraudulent election; that the violence, they claim, of the mostly peaceful BLM protests this past summer should be just as problematic. Of course, any violence is abhorrent, but Black Lives have not mattered for four hundred years, and the visible injustices of murdered black people is deeply rooted in the racism that befouls this nation. I want to hear the concerns of Republicans. I really do. But it has to start, as Mitt Romney eloquently stated in the electoral college certification, with the truth. And the truth is, our democracy at its core is about free and fair elections. Along with the courts, even the Trump-appointed-then-ousted cybersecurity chief Christopher Krebs said that these were the most secure elections in our nation’s history. Start with acknowledging Biden’s legitimate place as President, and I will begin to listen to your concerns. Until then, the divisions will only deepen.