Letter to the Editor: Election deniers

Lately there has been a lot of talk about election deniers and “threats to Democracy.”

As reported by the New York Times, in 2000, 2004 and 2016, some Democrats in Congress voted against certifying the presidential election results. “After Republican victories in 2000, 2004 and 2016, Democrats in Congress used the formal counting of electoral votes as an opportunity to challenge election results.” In 2001, Rep. Maxine Waters of California characterized Florida’s electoral votes as “fraudulent.”

In 2004, the chairperson of the Jan. 6 committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, joined 30 other House Democrats in refusing to certify Ohio’s election results, claiming “voter suppression” and that the voting machines used there were manipulated to re-elect President Bush.

As reported in numerous media outlets, in 2018 Stacy Abrams refused to concede defeat in her attempt at the governor’s office. She claimed “voter suppression” and told CNN that the “game was rigged.” She still has not admitted defeat.

In 2019, former President Jimmy Carter told Politico he believed Trump did not win the 2016 election, and was put into office because of “Russian interference.”

In 2019, as reported in the Washington Post, Hillary Clinton claimed the 2016 election was stolen.

A 2018 Ipsos Poll showed that 85% of people identifying as Democrats believed that Russian interference changed the election.

There are many more examples easily found with minimal research.

The media’s predictable fixation on only one party when it comes to this topic is not a surprise.

John CalabresePetoskey

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Letter to the Editor: Election deniers