Saturday, 12 November 2016

Anti-democratic forces in US follow anti-Brexit lead, trying to overturn Trump victory

Millions in America have been signing a petition to overturn Trump's victory and put Hillary in the White House. Millions in Britain signed a petition to ignore the Brexit vote. New battle lines have been drawn in the West: those for democracy and those against it. Fight for democracy now


by Liberty Rules on 12 November 2016 09:47
It is now becoming abundantly clear that on both sides of the Atlantic significant sections of the political Left (though not just the Left) are coming together in a nascent movement to oppose democracy itself.
When votes don't go their own way, they will try anything to overturn the result.
In the United States, a widely supported (ie not fringe) group called Change.org has launched a petition to overturn the election results and put Hillary Clinton in the White House, ditching the victor Donald Trump.
It has already attracted (at the time of writing) 3.4 million signatories. This mirrors the appalling petition in Britain following Brexit which attracted more than 4 million backers demanding that the result of the June 23 referendum be dismissed.
The founder of of the Change.org petition, Elijah Berg, said:
“Mr. Trump is unfit to serve. His scapegoating of so many Americans, and his impulsivity, bullying, lying, admitted history of sexual assault, and utter lack of experience make him a danger to the Republic.”
Let's take that apart. 1) Scapegoating: Perhaps, but Hillary called tens of millions of Americans "deplorables". 2) Being impulsive. That applies to most of us at some times in our lives, so let's strike out the majority of the electorate right there, 3) Bullying. Not a good characteristic. Remember how the Clintons destroyed Monica Lewinsky? 4) Lying. Hillary has lied repeatedly. Remember when she falsely claimed to have landed in Sarajevo under gun fire? 5) Who knows whether he committed sexual assault, but to say he admitted it is a blatant fabrication; he hasn't. 6) Lack of experience. So, maybe only the 0.1 percent of Americans who have held public office should be eligible to run for president?
This garbled, incoherent rant boils down to one thing: these people are fundamentally opposed to democracy, and like the anti-Brexit movement in Britain, they prove it by launching demonstrations and mass petitions the moment the voters back their opponents in a democratic ballot.
In the United States the anti-democrats are trying to use a technicality in the American system -- voters elect delegates who then go on to vote to confirm the president in office. In Britain, anti-democratic forces are trying to use a technicality in the courts.
Neither will win. But they have at least done us all a service. They have shown where the new battle lines really are, and it's this simple: On one side you have those who support democracy and respect what voters say; on the other you have those who don't.
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/6431/anti_democratic_forces_in_us_follow_anti_brexit_lead_trying_to_overturn_trump_victory