28 Comments

I am 67 years old and was a registered Republican from 1972 to 2016. I am appalled at the ongoing circus surrounding the 2020 election and the outrageous behavior of the president and far too many elected officials. It is disgusting. I will remember the names of the few who had the spine to speak against this dangerous ploy, and those who aided and abetted the president. I would guess that 99% of the latter don't believe any of it. Their only motive is preserving their place in Congress.

No one with an open mind can deny that there are always some issues with voting. But to believe in fraud on a scale large enough to change the outcome of the last election is like believing that every stunt you see in an action movie could actually happen in real life.

If we don't start teaching critical thinking we're doomed as a country.

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I don't believe for a minute any members of the Cruz led cabal in the Senate or their co- conspirators in the House "actually believe that Biden somehow stole the election". They proved beyond peradventure of doubt they are unprincipled careerists no different from Stalin's lickspittles who knowingly staged the show trials on fabricated evidence and coerced confessions. One can hope they suffer the same fate of being devoured by their master.

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Thanks for demonstrating that it’s very easy to write an article full of allegations without proof or a discussion of facts. Trump’s team does it, sure. And so do you.

As regards the election “irregularities,” it is logical to assume that some stuff went down. Some individuals filled out multiple mail-in ballots. Adequate bipartisan oversight was lacking in many places.

But we aren’t having a discussion about identifying and fixing electoral process gaps. One side is saying “fraud, throw it all out,” and the other is saying “unproven, nothing happened.” It’s just two sides talking past each other and pretending it’s debate.

I was hoping that Persuasion would be a place to come together and rationally discuss these topics, but it seems to be still struggling to find its way.

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This is a great article. I feel like 'conspiracy bootstrapping' isnt a memorable and sharp enough phrase for such an important concept though. Need to think of something more catchy to help people become more aware of it

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Proposal to Persuasion Community members: when a troll such a Plomin in this thread throws a molotov cocktail, simply ignore him. Reserve your fire for serious people.

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Agree with most of the narrative portrayed, but I think it's missing important context that's likely missed by folks w/strong Democratic Party ties.

In this election, Big Tech, 90% of the media, and the Democratic Party systematically (but dishonestly) worked (shall we say colluded!?!) together to help elect Joe Biden (in the primary and general elections). How do you think, Jon, that makes folks across the aisle feel? It's, frankly, a bit of a democratic sham, truly.

Moreover, elected Democratic officials in numerous swing states - including the Attorney General of PA - publicly stated (with sympathetic MSM support) that they guaranteed a Democratic party victory. In these states, voting fraud was identified, but not confirmed at scale (and is unlikely to have made a constitutional difference). Together, this certainly puts the process in poor standing. And I hope we never observe such behavior again, from officials of any party (but I wouldn't bet on it).

People on the right (and center, actually voting both ways depending on the candidate - me) are angry, and will be angry. I'm very angry.

Lastly, the entire narrative spinning cycle you describe, Jon, is one that the left has spun again and again and again, at various fractal levels, FOR FOUR YEARS. Russia trumped the election. Jussie Smollet cannot lie. Brett Kavanaugh gang raped all kinds of people. Sex doesn't exist. Catholic school boys being yelled at by a Native American are all racist. Most police are racist and people should be scared. Stacey Abrahams was robbed by 50k votes (remember that!?!).

Are you kidding, Jon? You're not fooling anyone beyond the already ideologically committed.

My advice is to step outside your bubble in a systematic way. Talk with folks who disagree with you more. It'll likely benefit you and them.

And my hope is that we seek to minimize voting fraud (eg leveraging technology to ensure votes do relate to legal voters), but also reduce the friction to voting for those who freely wish to exercise their right to participate.

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Republican conspiracy mongers are digging their own grave. Even the most jaded observers are astonished that they keep at this drama for weeks after the states have certified the results. They will be punished by voters in 2022. In fact, punishment will start from the Senate elections in Georgia. Such people don't deserve to lead the country. I suspect majority of voters, including the lion's share of moderates and Independents will agree with me.

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I voted for Mr. Trump twice. My vote was in favor of lower corporate taxes, a conservative supreme court, energy independence, strong trade policy in the face of China, stopping the endless wars, and peace in the middle east. My vote was not for Mr. Trump himself, unfortunately, the man is a walking controversy. To the election results, I am still unclear on the question: is it legal or not to change the voting laws as they did in PA and GA or not? The voting law changes seem to be the question that we the people need clarity on.

Had we had another choice that stood for the same agenda history would be very different.

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Remember the Flight 93 election? Because Democrats are so radical that they've nominated only centrists in the last 30 years? Good times!

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