Was the 2016 election unfair? Void?
On Dec. 14, 2016, NBC News, quoting unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, reported that Russian President Putin "became personally involved in the covert Russian campaign" to elect Donald Trump U.S. president. President Putin's spokesman immediately dismissed NBC's report as "laughable nonsense."
So, why should this matter now?
Didn't Hillary Clinton publicly concede the election on Nov. 9?
"Last night I congratulated Donald Trump ... I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. ... I'm sorry we did not win this election...
"We must accept the result and then look to the future ...
"Donald Trump is going to be our president. ... Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transition of power. We don't just respect that; we cherish it."
Is Mrs. Clinton's concession no longer operable? Is the peaceful transition of power no longer enshrined? Cherished?
On Dec. 14, Josh Earnest, President Obama's official spokesman -- who says only what the president wants said -- claimed, "There’s ample evidence that was known long before the election and in most cases long before October about the Trump campaign and Russia -- everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent.”
What was Earnest's factual basis for that claim that Mr. Trump called on Russia to hack his opponent?
Perhaps this! On the stump, Mr. Trump said, "Russia has no respect for our country. ... If it is Russia, nobody even knows it's Russia ... It shows how weak we are. ... how disrespected ....
"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 (Clinton) emails that are missing.
"I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happens. That'll be nice."
Trump's sarcasm was obvious. But Earnest heard only a confession of guilt and let his imagination run wild: “It MIGHT be an indication that (Trump) was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent’s campaign.”
But if Mr. Trump was aware, wasn't President Obama also aware? Did candidate Trump have better intelligence than President Obama? Was the CIA reporting to Mr. Trump, but not to President Obama? If the Russians were hacking, why didn't President Obama do something then and there? Whose permission did he need? His mother's?
The president's spokesman is now implying that Russia unfairly interfered in our election to assist Mr. Trump: “It was obvious to those who were covering the race that the hack-and-leak strategy that had been operationalized was not being equally applied to the two parties and to the two campaigns."
The election was "unfair." Earnest's unspoken, but logical conclusion, is clear: That "unfairness" rendered the election void. We need a new election!
Bizarre? Perhaps. But watch CNN's interview with former CIA agent Bob Baer, who said, “I'm deeply disturbed by the fact that the Russians interfered, and I would like to see the evidence, 'cause IF the evidence is there, I don’t see any other way than to vote again” (cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/12/10/robert-baer-new-election-russia-hacking-nr.cnn).
Who does Mr. Baer suggest should decide if America should vote again?
Mr. Baer's proposal would require President Obama to declare the 2016 election "illegal and void." But where in the Constitution is a president -- or anyone else -- given power to cancel election results, cling to power, and require a do-over?
There, of course, are leftist precedents for that. Fidel Castro (1961) announced an end to democratic elections in Cuba, and made himself president-for-life. Would Mr. Baer have President Obama stage a Castro-like coup d'etat? The left decries our "national divide." Would a coup be likely to heal that?
Our Constitution limits President Obama to two, four-year terms, and provides his term ends at noon on Jan. 20.
If the Russians hacked John Podesta's emails, Obama had his at-bat and whiffed. Now, Trump's the batter; it's his job to deal with Russian spit balls -- past and future.
Posted: QCOline.com January 7, 2017
Copyright 2017, John Donald O'Shea
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