Lakhota
Diamond Member
This is scary stuff.
Hereās What Could Happen If Donald Trump Doesnāt Accept The Election Results
WASHINGTON ā Samuel J. Tilden had a problem.
It was 1876, and the Democratic presidential nominee was one vote shy of the 185 Electoral College votes needed to secure the nationās highest office. Tilden had swept the popular vote, winning 247,448 more ballots than his opponent Rutherford B. Hayes ā who also lagged behind in Electoral College votes, with 165.
But 20 votes had not been counted: one from Oregon, four from Florida, eight from Louisiana and seven from South Carolina. Democratic candidates had used fraud and violence to sweep the state-level elections in the South. But since Republicans still maintained control of the state electoral boards, they could throw out votes in order to secure Hayes a win. On March 5, 1877, an Electoral Commission established by Congress confirmed Hayes would be Americaās 19th president.
During this political upheaval, there were talks of civil unrest, and fears of a second Civil War or the election being rigged to favor a candidate who better served the interests of the party in power. But Tilden, who had pretty good reason to think he was cheated, did not question the legitimacy of the results and conceded the election.
Current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may not be as gracious.
During the final presidential debate, Trump refused to say he would accept the election results in the contest against Hillary Clinton. In fact, as his chances of winning have dropped, his claims that the election is rigged against him have increased. (And, unlike Tilden, Trump doesnāt have a case.)
Fifty-six percent of Americans think Trump should concede if he loses on Tuesday, and 31 percent of those who believe he should concede think it would be a major threat to U.S. democracy if he doesnāt, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted this month.
Along party lines, the divide gets more stark. Only 48 percent of Republicans think Trump should concede if Clinton is declared the winner, compared to 77 percent of Democrats, based on the HuffPost/YouGov poll. Eighty-six percent of Republicans surveyed believe Clinton should concede versus 67 percent of Democrats.
Some political reporters and experts have argued that it doesnāt matter whether Trump accepts the election outcome. To some extent, theyāre right: If Trump loses, heāll have few legal recourses to contest the result.
But what if Trump doesnāt concede?
āEver since Thomas Jefferson effected the first change in party power in 1800, our democracy has depended upon the peaceful transfer of power and the idea of an opposition ā but a loyal opposition,ā Allan Lichtman, a political historian at American University, told The Huffington Post. āIs Trump going to change 200 years of American history?ā
No one knows. But Trump refusing to concede would flip the bird to a long American tradition of accepting a loss in a presidential election. And refusing to bow out peacefully could have real-life consequences.
Here are a few:
More: Hereās What Could Happen If Donald Trump Doesnāt Accept The Election Results | Huffington Post
Yep, this is scary stuff - especially considering the fact that Trump is not a patriot. Trump is in it for Trump - and he may well try to burn democracy down.
Hereās What Could Happen If Donald Trump Doesnāt Accept The Election Results
WASHINGTON ā Samuel J. Tilden had a problem.
It was 1876, and the Democratic presidential nominee was one vote shy of the 185 Electoral College votes needed to secure the nationās highest office. Tilden had swept the popular vote, winning 247,448 more ballots than his opponent Rutherford B. Hayes ā who also lagged behind in Electoral College votes, with 165.
But 20 votes had not been counted: one from Oregon, four from Florida, eight from Louisiana and seven from South Carolina. Democratic candidates had used fraud and violence to sweep the state-level elections in the South. But since Republicans still maintained control of the state electoral boards, they could throw out votes in order to secure Hayes a win. On March 5, 1877, an Electoral Commission established by Congress confirmed Hayes would be Americaās 19th president.
During this political upheaval, there were talks of civil unrest, and fears of a second Civil War or the election being rigged to favor a candidate who better served the interests of the party in power. But Tilden, who had pretty good reason to think he was cheated, did not question the legitimacy of the results and conceded the election.
Current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may not be as gracious.
During the final presidential debate, Trump refused to say he would accept the election results in the contest against Hillary Clinton. In fact, as his chances of winning have dropped, his claims that the election is rigged against him have increased. (And, unlike Tilden, Trump doesnāt have a case.)
Fifty-six percent of Americans think Trump should concede if he loses on Tuesday, and 31 percent of those who believe he should concede think it would be a major threat to U.S. democracy if he doesnāt, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted this month.
Along party lines, the divide gets more stark. Only 48 percent of Republicans think Trump should concede if Clinton is declared the winner, compared to 77 percent of Democrats, based on the HuffPost/YouGov poll. Eighty-six percent of Republicans surveyed believe Clinton should concede versus 67 percent of Democrats.
Some political reporters and experts have argued that it doesnāt matter whether Trump accepts the election outcome. To some extent, theyāre right: If Trump loses, heāll have few legal recourses to contest the result.
But what if Trump doesnāt concede?
āEver since Thomas Jefferson effected the first change in party power in 1800, our democracy has depended upon the peaceful transfer of power and the idea of an opposition ā but a loyal opposition,ā Allan Lichtman, a political historian at American University, told The Huffington Post. āIs Trump going to change 200 years of American history?ā
No one knows. But Trump refusing to concede would flip the bird to a long American tradition of accepting a loss in a presidential election. And refusing to bow out peacefully could have real-life consequences.
Here are a few:
More: Hereās What Could Happen If Donald Trump Doesnāt Accept The Election Results | Huffington Post
Yep, this is scary stuff - especially considering the fact that Trump is not a patriot. Trump is in it for Trump - and he may well try to burn democracy down.
