Election night can be about celebrating political victories. But concession speeches are more important to democracy.
For our system to work, the losers of fair-and-square votes must accept defeat. It’s painful but necessary. Sometimes figuring out winners can take a while, but eventually a clearly defeated candidate must give up.
Donald Trump is routinely asked if he can accept defeat. It’s not because he’s a sure loser. On the contrary, polls still show a close race.
It’s because of what happened when Trump lost the presidency in 2020, fair and square, and couldn’t accept it. He invented a lie that the election had been stolen by nefarious forces.
That lie misled millions of people. And it led Trump supporters to invade the Capitol to “stop the steal” on Jan. 6, by halting the lawful electoral vote count.
Trump still insists the 2020 election was stolen. This year, he says he will accept defeat if the vote is “honest.” He is, of course, the final arbiter of what is honest. The race will be close. The chance he’ll concede is low.
So, who will help him perpetuate the next big lie here in Iowa?
You might recall December 2020 when Texas filed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate millions of votes cast in swing states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan. The lawsuit was a joke, based on the idea pandemic-era changes to make voting easier opened the door to widespread fraud and made it impossible to know who exactly won those states. Total baloney.
And those swing states were decided by a bunch of “urban” voters, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court tossed the case.
Iowa was not among the 18 states that joined the suit, because Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller was still on the job. That rankled Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who said publicly she wished Iowa had joined in the effort to throw out lawfully cast votes.
Reynolds said her office wasn’t “given the opportunity to sign on in support of that.”
“While not given the opportunity, I would have requested that Iowa officially join in support of the lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General. As I have said all along, President Trump, his campaign, and supporters have every right to pursue lawful, legal action in the courts,” Reynolds said in a statement.
Thankfully, Miller held the line. “I cannot support a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate the votes of millions of Americans,” Miller said.
Did Miller ever join multistate lawsuits tinged by politics? Of course he did. But I don’t recall him providing legal services to a two-bit autocrat who fantasizes about leading America with an iron fist, making it a place where voting no longer is necessary.
But in 2022, Iowa voters gave us the Bird. Attorney General Brenna Bird.
With her in office, I doubt Iowa will miss any chance to fight for Trump, no matter how dubious his lies or how dangerous his conduct is for American democracy.
Bird is among the Trumpiest Trump supporters. She endorsed him ahead of the Iowa caucuses, even while the Iowa GOP cool kids were backing Florida Gov/ Ron DeSantis. After winning the caucuses by a record margin, Trump lavished Bird with praise.
He even suggested she would make a good governor. Shudder.
For Trump, Bird became a real joiner.
In November 2023, Bird joined with 18 red-state attorneys general seeking to lift a gag order imposed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Trump for crimes centered on his efforts to block and delay the electoral vote count on Jan. 6, along with carting off secret documents to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He had all the best documents, stored in a beautiful bathroom.
In December, a group of 19 state attorneys general, intervened in a Colorado Supreme Court case to determine whether a candidate who took part in an insurrection can remain on the ballot
In February, Iowa joined 22 state attorneys general in demanding that the Supreme Court halt all legal proceedings until they ruled on Trump’s immunity.
In March, Iowa was among 18 states sticking up for Trump in his battle to use presidential immunity as a get-out-prosecution escape hatch.
In July, Iowa was among a coalition of states led by Missouri challenging New York’s “politically motivated” District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his “calculated persecution” of Trump.
“As a prosecutor, I know that politics has no place in criminal prosecutions,” Bird said, with a straight face, as she played pure politics.
In May, Bird traveled to New York to lend moral support to Trump as he was tried for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after paying off a porn star to cover up an affair.
“What we need to do is get politics out of the courtroom and let President Trump get back on the campaign trail,” said Bird, practicing politics just outside the courtroom. Her trip was paid for by the Republican Attorneys General Association, the same group that bankrolled her 2022 campaign. She sat right behind Trump in a bright, red jacket.
Again, a straight face. Not even a smirk.
So, clearly, if Trump disputes the 2024 election, Bird will have his back. She’s willing to criticize prosecutors in other states. She’ll excuse Trump from the consequences of any and all political malfeasance. She’ll go wherever Trump needs her to go and say what he needs her to say. She’ll sacrifice her credibility to gain political power.
It’s true, Bird was elected promising to file lawsuits against the Biden administration. But do voters want her valuable time propping up a loser who can’t accept defeat? Will his lies become Bird’s lies? Will our attorney general lie to us? Yep.
Losing is critical to democracy. And that’s precisely why the authoritarian Republican presidential nominee and his loyal minions, including Bird, don’t care about the damage being done. All that matters is winning, and power.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
For our system to work, the losers of fair-and-square votes must accept defeat. It’s painful but necessary. Sometimes figuring out winners can take a while, but eventually a clearly defeated candidate must give up.
Donald Trump is routinely asked if he can accept defeat. It’s not because he’s a sure loser. On the contrary, polls still show a close race.
It’s because of what happened when Trump lost the presidency in 2020, fair and square, and couldn’t accept it. He invented a lie that the election had been stolen by nefarious forces.
That lie misled millions of people. And it led Trump supporters to invade the Capitol to “stop the steal” on Jan. 6, by halting the lawful electoral vote count.
Trump still insists the 2020 election was stolen. This year, he says he will accept defeat if the vote is “honest.” He is, of course, the final arbiter of what is honest. The race will be close. The chance he’ll concede is low.
So, who will help him perpetuate the next big lie here in Iowa?
You might recall December 2020 when Texas filed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate millions of votes cast in swing states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan. The lawsuit was a joke, based on the idea pandemic-era changes to make voting easier opened the door to widespread fraud and made it impossible to know who exactly won those states. Total baloney.
And those swing states were decided by a bunch of “urban” voters, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court tossed the case.
Iowa was not among the 18 states that joined the suit, because Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller was still on the job. That rankled Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who said publicly she wished Iowa had joined in the effort to throw out lawfully cast votes.
Reynolds said her office wasn’t “given the opportunity to sign on in support of that.”
“While not given the opportunity, I would have requested that Iowa officially join in support of the lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General. As I have said all along, President Trump, his campaign, and supporters have every right to pursue lawful, legal action in the courts,” Reynolds said in a statement.
Thankfully, Miller held the line. “I cannot support a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate the votes of millions of Americans,” Miller said.
Did Miller ever join multistate lawsuits tinged by politics? Of course he did. But I don’t recall him providing legal services to a two-bit autocrat who fantasizes about leading America with an iron fist, making it a place where voting no longer is necessary.
But in 2022, Iowa voters gave us the Bird. Attorney General Brenna Bird.
With her in office, I doubt Iowa will miss any chance to fight for Trump, no matter how dubious his lies or how dangerous his conduct is for American democracy.
Bird is among the Trumpiest Trump supporters. She endorsed him ahead of the Iowa caucuses, even while the Iowa GOP cool kids were backing Florida Gov/ Ron DeSantis. After winning the caucuses by a record margin, Trump lavished Bird with praise.
He even suggested she would make a good governor. Shudder.
For Trump, Bird became a real joiner.
In November 2023, Bird joined with 18 red-state attorneys general seeking to lift a gag order imposed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Trump for crimes centered on his efforts to block and delay the electoral vote count on Jan. 6, along with carting off secret documents to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He had all the best documents, stored in a beautiful bathroom.
In December, a group of 19 state attorneys general, intervened in a Colorado Supreme Court case to determine whether a candidate who took part in an insurrection can remain on the ballot
In February, Iowa joined 22 state attorneys general in demanding that the Supreme Court halt all legal proceedings until they ruled on Trump’s immunity.
In March, Iowa was among 18 states sticking up for Trump in his battle to use presidential immunity as a get-out-prosecution escape hatch.
In July, Iowa was among a coalition of states led by Missouri challenging New York’s “politically motivated” District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his “calculated persecution” of Trump.
“As a prosecutor, I know that politics has no place in criminal prosecutions,” Bird said, with a straight face, as she played pure politics.
In May, Bird traveled to New York to lend moral support to Trump as he was tried for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after paying off a porn star to cover up an affair.
“What we need to do is get politics out of the courtroom and let President Trump get back on the campaign trail,” said Bird, practicing politics just outside the courtroom. Her trip was paid for by the Republican Attorneys General Association, the same group that bankrolled her 2022 campaign. She sat right behind Trump in a bright, red jacket.
Again, a straight face. Not even a smirk.
So, clearly, if Trump disputes the 2024 election, Bird will have his back. She’s willing to criticize prosecutors in other states. She’ll excuse Trump from the consequences of any and all political malfeasance. She’ll go wherever Trump needs her to go and say what he needs her to say. She’ll sacrifice her credibility to gain political power.
It’s true, Bird was elected promising to file lawsuits against the Biden administration. But do voters want her valuable time propping up a loser who can’t accept defeat? Will his lies become Bird’s lies? Will our attorney general lie to us? Yep.
Losing is critical to democracy. And that’s precisely why the authoritarian Republican presidential nominee and his loyal minions, including Bird, don’t care about the damage being done. All that matters is winning, and power.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: If Trump refuses to lose, our Bird will have his back
Iowa AG will be an active Trump loyalist
www.thegazette.com
